Dubai: It was a historic day for Afghanistan cricket as all-rounders Mohammad Nabi and 18-year-old leg-spinner Rashid Khan were bought by Indian Premier League (IPL) team Sunrisers Hyderabad at the auction on Monday.

Sunrisers bought Khan for Rs40 million ($595,000 approx) and Nabi for Rs3 million ($44,000 approx). For a cricket-mad nation like Afghanistan, the inclusion of these two players in the IPL will result in the league being followed closely by the fans.

Speaking to Gulf News, Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Afghanistan national team, said: “I am very happy at Afghanistan players being picked to play in the IPL. It will make more Afghanistan players work hard to get into the IPL.”

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad, Dawlat Zadran and Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai were the other three players who figured in the auction list. Many IPL team owners have been following Afghanistan players since their impressive show in World Cup matches.

Nabi was the top wicket-taker at the 2016 world Cup for Afghanistan with 12 wickets and Khan finished a close second with 11 wickets. “The selection of the duo for IPL is a big boost for Afghanistan. Rashid (Khan) is undoubtedly a match-winner,” added Rajput.

As soon as the news spread of Khan’s selection into the IPL, Afghanistan teammates have labelled him as ‘million dollar baby’. In fact, Nabi even tweeted immediately after the auction: “Flooded with happiness today not only for myself but rather for our junior rocking player [Rashid Khan] for being selected for Sunrisers.”

Rajput and Nabi feels that Khan’s googly will be difficult to pick and will be a huge success in the IPL.

Nabi and Khan were also outstanding in the Bangladesh Premier League. Nabi took 19 wickets in 13 games and Khan bagged 13 wickets in eight games. Khan is also a fine lower order batsman.

Nabi, 32, is a veteran of 72 One Day International matches and 52 Twenty20 Internationals. He has bagged 73 wickets in ODIs and 56 wickets in T20s with his off spin. Khan has played in only 18 ODIs and 21 Twenty20 matches and has 31 wickets in both formats of the game.

Though Khan is a not a big turner of the ball, he bowls intelligently to keep the batsmen under pressure with his quicker deliveries and control in the air. Incidentally, his idol is Shahid Afridi and he tries to emulate his bowling methods as well.