Mujeeb Ur Rahman to return to Middlesex for T20 Blast

The Afghanistan spinner has spent the past three seasons at Lord's, picking up 26 wickets in 28 appearances in the T20 Blast

Middlesex have re-signed Mujeeb Ur Rahman for the 2022 T20 Blast.

The Afghanistan spinner, who first represented the club in 2018, has taken 26 wickets in 28 appearances in the T20 competition and boasts an economy of 7.1.

In 2021, he took  10 wickets at 16.6 in just six outings, with an economy of 6.91 and best figures of 2 for 18 against Essex.

With 185 T20 wickets in 167 matches to date, including 32 in 22 international outings, and experience of playing in the IPL, PSL, Big Bash, CPL, Bangladesh Premier League and The Hundred, Mujeeb is a proven wicket-taker in many different conditions.

However, his biggest asset for Middlesex is his powerplay bowling. Somewhat unusually for a spinner, Mujeeb regularly takes the new ball and bowls three of the first six overs.

^{Mujeeb Ur Rahman in action for Afghanistan [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

Last season, half of his wickets came during this period while Middlesex collected 12 powerplay wickets with him in the XI, likely as a result of his miserly bowling making batters impatient.

Mujeeb is set to be available for the entire tournament, including the knockout stages should Middlesex progress.

Commenting on his return to Lord’s, Mujeeb said: "I am very pleased to be returning to Middlesex, as the Club is like family to me. I’m very happy there and hopefully we can do well this season."

Alan Coleman, head of men’s performance cricket, added: "We are delighted once again to be able to extend Mujeeb’s association with Middlesex Cricket. Not only is he a truly world-class cricketer, but he is a fantastic role model and inspiration for many young people in London and around the world.

"As an individual he offers a huge amount in our changing room, having played T20 cricket successfully across the globe in the world’s largest competitions. The knowledge and experience he shares with our young players is invaluable and they absolutely love working with him.

"Under our newly appointed first team coach, Richard Johnson, we are really looking forward to making big progress in all competitions this year, and to have someone of the calibre of Mujeeb in our squad at the forefront of our T20 ambitions again is a really exciting prospect. We can’t wait to see him back in a Middlesex shirt this summer."