Yasir Shah, the Pakistan legspinner, will join Trinbago Knight Riders as the team makes a bid for its second Caribbean Premier League title. It will be the 31-year old’s second stint in T20 franchise cricket abroad, having played for Dhaka Dynamites in the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League.
Yasir replaced his countryman Shadab Khan, who has to return home to play the three T20Is against a World XI side in Lahore from September 12.
The Knight Riders coach Simon Katich was pleased with the like-for-like addition to their roster. “Winning matches in T20 cricket is so often about claiming wickets at vital times, and a leg spinner of the quality of Yasir will do just that. We are at the business end of the tournament and Yasir’s experience and skill will be vital as we look to claim our second Hero CPL title.”
Yasir’s ability is well documented in Tests, with his 149 wickets in 29 matches, but he has been a lesser force in limited-overs cricket for Pakistan. He has not played an ODI since August 2016, and his previous T20I was six years ago. He was impressive the last time he toured the Caribbean though, picking up 25 wickets from three Tests to help Pakistan win the series 2-1.
Yasir hasn’t played any competitive cricket since joining the MCC team to play against Afghanistan at Lord’s in July. Prior to that, he played for Kent in the English county championship, picking up 14 wickets in three games.
The Knight Riders face Guyana Amazon Warriors on Thursday in a knockout match for a place in the final on Saturday.
