Nabi and Pollard join Renegades after Narine pulls out of BBL 2017-18

For the first time, two Afghanistan players will be seen playing in the Big Bash League after Melbourne Renegades recruited Mohammad Nabi for the upcoming season. Nabi will replace Sunil Narine, who will miss the tournament owing to personal reasons.

Nabi will later be replaced by Kieron Pollard for the later stages of the tournament. While Nabi will be available for the first seven games of the season, Pollard will be part of the squad for last three games. "Everyone speaks very highly of his game," Finch said of Nabi, who bowls "crafty" off-spinners. "(He) can smack them with the bat, so good all-round package."

Renegades's head coach Andrew McDonald too was pleased with the signing of Nabi. "We wish Sunil all the best," he told melbournerenegades.com.au. "At short notice, we are pleased that we've been able to secure players of Mohammad and Kieron's quality who will be important contributors this season for us."

The other Afghanistan player who will be seen in the BBL is teenage leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan, who will play for the Adelaide Strikers.