Ranji Trophy | Iqbal Abdulla to join Sikkim as guest player after MCA grants NoC

08/27/2019

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Mumbai-based left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla is all set to join Sikkim Cricket team as a professional guest player after Millind Kumar decided to cut ties. Abdulla has already obtained a No-Objection Certificate from the Mumbai Cricket Association and has already confirmed his availability to Sikkim.

Rose to prominence as a talented young cricketer, Abdulla was a member of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning side, which won the title in 2008 under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, Abdulla comes with vast experience and has featured in 59 First-Class and 78 List A matches, for Mumbai and Kerala. The off-spinner spent nine seasons with Mumbai before moving to Kerala in 2016 and bagged 26 wickets in 17 innings before returning to Mumbai last year.

After Mumbai Cricket Association’s rule demands a player to serve a year-long cooling-off period, he waited for his opportunity and when he wasn’t named on the list of probables for the season, he decided to move out.

“Iqbal is a seasoned campaigner and his experience will help the team immensely. We are hoping that our boys learn a thing or two from him,” one of the SCA officials said, reported Sportstar.

Last year, Sikkim had roped in Milind Kumar, Ishwar Chaudhary, and Bipul Sharma as professionals and the former went on to become the highest scorer of the Ranji Trophy. However, after Milind's decision to shift to a different team and association not too keen on continuing with Bipul, Yashpal Singh has been roped in as one of the guest players while Ishwar has been retained. The pool has been completed with Iqbal Abdulla.

With no proper cricketing facilities in place, Sikkim will be playing at the KIIT Cricket Stadium in Bhubaneswar.