Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Adelaide Strikers have signed Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf for the upcoming edition, which begins on December 12. Haris has been a BBL regular, playing five seasons so far. All five saw him represent the Melbourne Stars.
Stars move past Haris
This time, however, Stars have filled their overseas spots with Jamie Overton, Craig Overton and Finn Allen.
Rauf had a spectacular season for Stars last year as he took 20 wickets in eleven games. He finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker and earned a spot in the BBL 15 Team of the Tournament. While his wicket tally stood out this season, he was a tad expensive with the ball, leaking runs at an economy of 8.23, his highest in any BBL season in which he has bowled at least 100 deliveries.
Each BBL team can have up to three overseas players. Besides Rauf, Strikers will have Ben Stokes and Mark Chapman joining them.
“I can’t wait to get started with the Adelaide Strikers. Adelaide Oval is one of the great cricket venues in the world and I’ve always enjoyed playing there,” said Rauf, reacting to his signing.
“The Strikers have a strong squad with world-class players like Ben Stokes, Matt Short and Mark Chapman, so I’m really excited about the opportunity to play alongside them.
“We’ve got a talented group, and I’m looking forward to contributing wherever I can to help the team push deep into the finals and compete for a championship.”
Pakistan players in BBL
Last year, a sizeable contingent of Pakistan players were part of the league, with Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Zaman Khan playing in the league, besides Rauf. This edition, however, only Rauf has been signed by a BBL team so far.
Pakistan women’s captain Fatima Sana, though, is in Australia for the ongoing edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), which began on October 29. Fatima was signed earlier by Perth Scorchers, making her only the second Pakistani cricketer to play in the WBBL after Nida Dar, who represented Sydney Thunder in WBBL 2019-20.
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