Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi to lead a team in Sri Lankan Cricket League
Pakistan team’s limited overs captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 is set to join the Sri Lankan Cricket League which starts at end of July and run through the first week of August this year.
The flamboyant all rounder, who led his team to the World Cup semi finals in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391, Afridi told media in Pakistan that he has given his consent to lead a team in the tournament that would offer some extra money to the Pakistani players who have missed out
on the spoils of the Indian Premier League for the last three seasons.
He revealed that he gave his consent upon his arrival from the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 where he led his team to a 3-2 win in the five-match One Day International (ODI) series. He added that he was given the opportunity of leading one of teams in the competition and
he has taken it.
"It's a good opportunity and I will try to make the most of it," Afridi, 31, told a Pakistani newspaper in Karachi. "There is a comfortable window for us [Pakistan's cricketers] to feature in the league in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. We have a sufficient
break from international cricket this summer."
Pakistani players are set to be the biggest attraction along with the likes of Chris Gayle and Herschelle http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gibbs-c60021, the former South African opening batsman who was overlooked for the World Cup.
Gayle, the former West Indian captain, has been in prime form in the on-going IPL season four, he has already hit two centuries to become the first batsman in the history of the tournament to score two hundreds in one season.
There are a number of Pakistani players who are eyeing the Sri Lankan version of the T20 crash, bang and wallop.
Afridi confirmed that he had signed a three year deal worth US$35,000 for the first season of the SLPL, with the amount expected to double the following season in 2012.
There are some other leading players from the country that are set join him the list including http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595.
Gul and Shoaib Akhtar, along with Afridi, featured in the inaugural IPL, however, strained relations between Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 since then has meant that the quartet has been forced to miss out on the extra money on offer from the
rich league.
Meanwhile, the recently retired speedster, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Akhtar-c90080 also confirmed to a news channel in Pakistan that he has signed a deal with the Sri Lankan league.
Akhtar added that he had been hired for three years and was keen on making an impression after he was left out of the last four http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 games in the World Cup, forcing him to take retirement mid way of the high profile event.
The league is expected to run for 18 days, the tournament begins at the end of July and would run through to the first 10 days or so of August. There are plans of holding the league around the same time every year; however, international commitments of teams
might force the organizers to re-locate the event in some other window.
In all, seven teams from different provinces of the country are set to take part in the event, each team is expected to play the other once before the semifinals and the final of the event. The format is yet to be announced, however, it is set to come out
before the end of May.
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