Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain, has been approached by South Africa’s Nashua Dolphins for the Pro20 series scheduled to take place in February.
While the franchise administration refused to confirm the signing, sources said that the contract has been signed and Afridi will join the Dolphins after Pakistan’s tour of Australia that finishes with a one-off Twenty20 on Feb 3, 2010.
“I can confirm that we have shown interest in availing the services of Afridi who we believe will be available from February,” Jesse Chellan, CEO of KwaZulu-Natal franchise that owns the Dolphins, told Dawn. “Nothing has been signed yet and the negotiations are on-going. We hope to confirm things by the end of the week after discussions with the board and stakeholders but the arrival of Afridi is sure to be a big attraction.”
Afridi, who was declared Man of the Match in the semi-final and final of the World Twenty20 held in England earlier this year, will join the likes of Loot Bosman, Hashim Amla and Yusuf Abdulla in the Dolphins squad, all of whom have represented South Africa. Having scored 421 runs in 24 Twenty20 Internationals, Afridi has also taken 34 wickets that places him second on the all-time highest wicket-takers’ list — three behind compatriot Umar Gul.
Dolphins, who lost out to Cape Cobras in a Super Over in the third leg of the Pro20 semi-finals last season, kick-off the new series with a home match against the Warriors on Feb 7, 2010.
© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in DAWN newspaper, Oct 7, 2009.
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