Rashid Khan is eager to justify his status as the number one draft pick in the Hundred when he makes his debut in English cricket's new 100 balls per side competition on Saturday.
A key figure in the remarkable rise of Afghanistan from cricket outpost to Test nation, the 22-year-old leg-spinner has long been regarded as the leading current bowler in Twenty20 cricket. Now he finds himself in an even shorter format that will see him turning out for the Nottingham-based Trent Rockets when they begin their Hundred campaign at home to the Southern Brave.
And having impressed against the world's best in the high-profile Indian Premier League, among other T20 tournaments, his Hundred price tag of £100,000 (138,000 dollars) is unlikely to affect Khan. "Definitely it is a huge, proud moment for me and my country, to be someone from Afghanistan and be the first pick in this competition," he said.
