LPL 2020 | Shahid Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed to play for Galle Gladiators
The Pakistan duo of Shahid Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed have become the first major overseas signings of the Lankan Premier League (LPL) after it was announced that the duo will turn up for the Galle Gladiators in the inaugural season. The inaugural Lankan Premier League will commence on November 14.
Days after finalizing the start date of the competition, the Lankan Premier League (LPL) has landed two big coups in the form of the Pakistan duo of Shahid Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed. Earlier this week, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that the five-team competition will commence on November 14 and now, following that announcement, it has been confirmed that both Sarfaraz and Afridi will be partaking in the inaugural edition of the competition.
The duo will feature for ‘Galle Gladiators’, a franchise which was bought by the owner of the Quetta Gladiators franchise in the Pakistan Super League. The announcement of the franchise roping in the power-packed duo was made by Nadeem Omar, owner of Quetta Gladiators, during the unveiling of the Galle Gladiators franchise earlier this week.
Afridi, who plays for Multan Sultans in the PSL, was named as the club’s icon player and the legendary all-rounder took to Twitter to express his gratitude.
“Proud to be the icon player for Galle Gladiators. I want to thank Nadeem Omar bhai and also congratulate him for being the first franchise owner from Pakistan in the #LPL. I’ll be seeing you all in,” tweeted the 40-year-old.
The signing of Sarfaraz might also largely be due to the fact that the wicket-keeper batsman captains Galle Gladiators’ sister franchise, Quetta Gladiators, in the PSL. It remains to be seen, however, if Afridi will be available for the initial phase of the LPL as earlier this week, the PSL also announced that the knockouts of the tournament will be played from November 14, which is subsequently the start date of the LPL.