Tahir pulls out of Renegades stint for personal reasons

The Melbourne Renegades' KFC BBL season has gone from bad to worse with star South Africa spinner Imran Tahir pulling out of the tournament, but coach Michael Klinger hopes it opens the door for Afghan teen Noor Ahmad to shine.

Already struggling for form, the Renegades confirmed on Monday that Tahir has withdrawn for personal reasons.

The 41-year-old becomes the latest in the string of players to pull out of the tournament amid Australia's two-week hotel quarantine for arrivals, including England pair Tom Banton and Tom Curran.

The leg-spinner's planned addition to the Renegades squad for matches in the new year was set to be a boost, given they have been flogged in their past three games.

However it could now open the door for 15-year-old Noor to stay on for longer as an overseas player, given he was previously filling the gap until Tahir's arrival.

Spin-bowling allrounders Mohammad Nabi and Imad Wasim are expected to leave for international duties with Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively during January, while Rilee Rossouw is available for the whole tournament.

"(Tahir) is a great player, so it is a loss," Klinger said. "But we saw Noor Ahmad a few games ago, a bowler people haven't seen that much, so it might actually play in our favour a bit.

"He'll now be able to play a fair chunk of that back-end of the season once Imad has to go home for international duty.

"It is a loss but at the same time, what a huge opportunity for Noor to come in and have a real impact on the BBL."

The Renegades have suffered the two biggest defeats in BBL history already this tournament, and must rebound fast for Tuesday's clash with the Sydney Sixers.

They were beaten by 145 runs last time they faced them, before going down by 129 runs to the Thunder on Saturday night.

The next eight days now loom as vital for their season, with four games to be played.

"The mood is still pretty good because we know what we're capable of doing," Klinger said.

"Starting well with the bat and ball is going to be the key. We let them get away with the bat by not sticking to our plans with the ball.

"And then losing wickets in the Powerplay is going to impact when you are chasing a 200-plus score."