Rishad receives prestigious Fazal Mahmood Cap as highest wicket-taker in ongoing PSL

He now tops the list of wicket-takers after grabbing three wickets in each of the last two games

Photo: Facebook/LahoreQalandars

Bangladesh’s legbreak prodigy Rishad Hossain has received the prestigious Fazal Mahmood Cap after pulling ahead of the other bowlers in terms of wickets for Lahore Qalandars in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

After the 22-year-old Bangladeshi grabbed six wickets in this year’s competition so far, the Qalandars posted a photo on social media showing Rishad pointing at the cap, captioned:

“Spinning magic

Rishad Hossain receives the Fazal Mehmood (sic) cap after becoming the leading wicket taker of HBL PSL 10.”

After not making the cut for Lahore’s first game, Rishad grabbed three wickets in each of the two games that followed to emerge as a key bowler for the team.

He returned 3-31 against Quetta Gladiators, leading Lahore to a 79-run win on Apr 13 before snaring 3-26 against Karachi Kings to help the team coast to a 65-run victory on Apr 15. He earned the Superpower of the Day, essentially player-of-the-match, in the last game, a reward worth 300,000 Pakistani rupees.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Purple Cap is awarded to the highest wicket-taker while the top scorer receives the Orange Cap.

In the Pakistani league, however, the accolades are named after greats -- fast bowling legend Fazal Mahmood for bowling and batting virtuoso Hanif Mohammad for batting.

Rishad’s teammate Fakhar Zaman currently wears the Hanif Mohammad Cap.

Pakistani legspinner Abrar Ahmed also bagged six wickets, but is behind Rishad on both bowling average, 9.5 against 12.5, and economy rate, 7.12 against 9.37.

In his first overseas trip for franchise cricket, Rishad bolstered his reputation as an emerging talent for the Tigers after securing a spot in the T20 team. He took 14 wickets in national colours in the last T20 World Cup -- a record for Bangladesh in a single tournament.

Lahore are second in the table with 4 points from three games, trailing Islamabad at the top, who played two matches and won on both occasions.