Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is understood to have been signed by a Lanka Premier League (LPL) franchise for the upcoming edition. While the official announcement is still pending, the league’s official social media handle has dropped a video of what seems to be Shaheen’s silhouette.
Shaheen to join a sizeable Pakistan contingent
If the sources are correct, this will be the pacer’s debut season with the league. He was earlier left out of Pakistan’s two-game Test series against West Indies, which begins on July 25 and will overlap with the LPL, which will be played from July 17 to August 8.
Shaheen had not registered himself for the LPL draft, where a total of 120 Pakistani players signed up, the most by any full-member nation. He could join Sahibzada Farhan, who was signed as an Icon player by Dambulla Sixers ahead of the draft, as well as Mohammad Nawaz, Akif Javed, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani, all of whom were picked up in the draft.
Shaheen’s unplanned hiatus
Barring the Pakistan Super League and the Big Bash League, Shaheen has not been a presence in franchise cricket over the past couple of years, largely due to his injuries and busy schedule.
Since the PSL this year, however, the left-arm pacer hasn’t had much competitive cricket to look forward to, having been sidelined from the second Bangladesh Test before Pakistan went on a rare break in their schedule.
List of all Pakistan players picked in LPL 2026:
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