Notts Outlaws suffer blow as skipper Dan Christian pulls out on eve of Vitality T20 Blast

Nottinghamshire Outlaws have suffered a major blow to their Vitality T20 Blast campaign as their skipper Daniel Christian has pulled out of the group stage of the tournament after getting selected in the Australia T20 squad for the tour of West Indies.

Christian has been the pillar of Notts’s success over the last many years. He began his journey for them in the 2014 edition before taking over the captaincy in the 2016 edition. Since then, he has led the Notts to four out of five finals and championship on two occasions in 2017 and 2020.

In his absence, Steven Mullaney will lead the Notts in the T20 Blas scheduled to start tomorrow in Manchester.

Nottinghamshire coach Peter Moores conceded Christian’s departure has changed the dynamics of the team ‘late in the day’ but at the same time, he expressed the proud feeling for helping him get back into an ‘as strong a team’ as Australia at the age of 38.

"It changes things for us late in the day ahead of the tournament, but first and foremost you can only be really pleased for Dan. To be called up again by a nation as strong as Australia, and for that to come on the back of playing some of the best cricket of his career and at the age of 38, it's a great achievement for him. We're proud, as a club, of the role we have played in that,” Moores said.

He commended Christian’s longevity and said that life without him with the Notts will be ‘strange’ after led the side to brilliant performances in the past. However, he put the onus on ‘other players’ to fill in the void created by the all-rounder.

"It's going to be strange not having Dan around. He's been here for every Blast campaign since 2015 and he's led the side brilliantly as well, but what it will do is create opportunities for other players to step up."

The development has come in the backdrop of Australia selecting backups for the players selected in the original squad for the tour keeping in mind imminent pull out of players due to ‘bubble fatigue.’

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