Dubai: Pakistan’s star bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has signed with Desert Vipers for the second season of DP World ILT20 that is scheduled to be held in January-February next year.
“I am excited to join the Desert Vipers. I know there are many Pakistan cricket fans in the UAE, and I hope they will support our team in the upcoming DP World ILT20,” the pacer said who is expected to join the inaugural season’s finalists after returning from Australia after the New Year’s Test in Sydney.
This is the first of the signings for the second edition and the full list of the new recruits will be unveiled in the next few days.
Since his T20I debut in 2018, Shaheen has made phenomenal progress across formats. Last year, he was adjudged the ICC Player of the Year and earned The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy — the biggest ICC annual award for a cricketer. The 23-year-old international wickets tally stands at 239 (105 Tests, 70 ODIs and 64 T20Is) and has made a fine impression in T20s (229 wickets in 161 T20s) around the world.
Star-studded line-up
Shaheen’s signing adds even more value and quality to an already star-studded line-up of T20 stars in the DP World ILT20. The six franchises have succeeded in retaining some of the biggest names in the global T20 circuit including last year’s top run-getter Alex Hales (Green Belt winner) and the highest wicket-taker Chris Jordan (White Belt winner).
Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sikandar Raza, Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard and Chris Woakes are amongst a whole host of the T20 bigwigs who will showcase their prowess in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the DP World ILT20 Season 2.
