County sides and BBL teams keen on signing Haider Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi

[Saj]

I have it on good authority that a couple of BBL teams are keen to sign Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haider Ali for this year's Big Bash League, if they are available and not touring with Pakistan.

Also 2 county teams have expressed an interest in signing Haider Ali for next season and a couple of county sides including Hampshire want to sign Shaheen Shah Afridi for the 2021 season.

It's a fine balancing act for the PCB to provide young cricketers with the opportunity to earn big money from these leagues, but at the same time remaining fit and healthy for the national team.

 

[Titan24]

Definitely PCB needs a good balance. For all the young players especially pacers, the workload management is of high importance as well.

 

[Loralai]

It would be good to see them playing country cricket and getting experience in testing first class conditions- [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] can you confirm this is for FC cricket or just the usual T20 leagues.

 

[Saj]

It would be good to see them playing country cricket and getting experience in testing first class conditions- [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] can you confirm this is for FC cricket or just the usual T20 leagues.

Yes The Big Bash League and the T20 Blast in England.

 

[Hasan123]

Yes The Big Bash League and the T20 Blast in England.

So it's nothing to get excited about if I'm honest. They need to play first class cricket to improve further. T20 leagues aren't going to improve them.

 

[Slog]

Yes The Big Bash League and the T20 Blast in England.

Then nothing to be excited about in England. The T20 blast standard is several notches below PSL even. Would have been excited if it was a full contract including FC cricket.

BBL can be a good opportunity. The stakes are higher, pressure is on since it actually has big following in Australia and I think games much more competitive. Some T20 blast matches look like village matches. Way too many teams.

 

[HitWicket]

Please tell me Hampshire are also one of the teams that have expressed an interest in Haider Ali. Re-signing Afridi would be awful in terms of team balance (before even considering his performance this season), something we've done far too often with overseas players recently.

 

[Bewal Express]

It will put a lot of pressure on HA to develop quickly. It make or break him. Overall it would be a great move for him as county cricket is a great school to learn

 

[Bewal Express]

Then nothing to be excited about in England. The T20 blast standard is several notches below PSL even. Would have been excited if it was a full contract including FC cricket.

BBL can be a good opportunity. The stakes are higher, pressure is on since it actually has big following in Australia and I think games much more competitive. Some T20 blast matches look like village matches. Way too many teams.

There are 18 teams and talent is spread out. Any young player will enjoy the challenge of county cricket

 

[Slog]

There are 18 teams and talent is spread out. Any young player will enjoy the challenge of county cricket

They will enjoy FC county cricket and learn a lot from it too. Will not gain much from T20 blast asides from money and exposure to an international dressing room which plays a role in development. However as far as standard of cricket is concerned T20 blast isn’t great.

 

[Slog]

Please tell me Hampshire are also one of the teams that have expressed an interest in Haider Ali. Re-signing Afridi would be awful in terms of team balance (before even considering his performance this season), something we've done far too often with overseas players recently.

I thought he’s been tearing it up

 

[naseem]

I would prefer first class over these leagues honestly.......not only they...Naseem Arshad Musa Akif Abdullah and co need good first class experience....t20 leagues will help improve handling pressure and developing power game but overdose of t20 can burn out players ......

 

[naseem]

I am more than happy if the county contract is a full contract eso first class matches.....but only t20 blast is a NO NO

 

[Thunderbolt14]

[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] bhai, I’ve seen that counties are barely signing Pakistanis for First Class cricket, what’s the reason for this? Even Babar barely plays FC cricket for Somerset, if they had him this year they could have won the Bob Willis cup.

Why doesn’t Babar play FC in England? Similarly, surely Shaheen is highly rated by Hampshire and can help their First Class team?

 

[naseem]

Actually first class county can do wonders esp for pacers......

 

[the Great Khan]

[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] bhai, I’ve seen that counties are barely signing Pakistanis for First Class cricket, what’s the reason for this? Even Babar barely plays FC cricket for Somerset, if they had him this year they could have won the Bob Willis cup.

Why doesn’t Babar play FC in England? Similarly, surely Shaheen is highly rated by Hampshire and can help their First Class team?

one of the reasons is the limited time they can offer the counties and the fact that better stalwarts are available e.g. from australia and south africa

 

[Rajdeep]

[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] bhai, I’ve seen that counties are barely signing Pakistanis for First Class cricket, what’s the reason for this? Even Babar barely plays FC cricket for Somerset, if they had him this year they could have won the Bob Willis cup.

Why doesn’t Babar play FC in England? Similarly, surely Shaheen is highly rated by Hampshire and can help their First Class team?

Time is the main factor. Its not that counties dont want to sign foreign players but rather players have limited time to committ for 1st class matches in county. With so much cricket these days across 3 formats, players will find it difficult to manage time for counties. Only test specialists like Pujara etc. will have enough time to have a full stint in county cricket.

 

[HitWicket]

I thought he’s been tearing it up

Prior to his final game he was averaging 191 with the ball at an economy rate of 8.68. In general I wouldn't be too opposed to giving him another shot but we really don't need to add a bowler, ideally we need an aggressive number 5 batsman.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Surely a BBL team would not mind having Babar Azam in their ranks as well.

He already seems to be happy at Somerset in county cricket in England.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

All of it is good - but only if Shaheen in particular gets plenty of rest days. Nowadays he is playing everything and may pay for it for years to come.

 

[angrypathan]

If there's QEA trophy games on in that time, these two should ideally be playing in those instead. The PCB needs to ensure that our younger players get as many FC games under their belt as they can.

 

[silentkiller187]

i would much rather they play bbl and english county games then for example a BPL or even a PSL Experience in different conditions would set them up nicely for any future tours.

 

[Saj]

I'd rather both were playing 4 day County cricket if I'm being honest.

Many Pakistani players improved in County cricket, but these days not many of our guys get a sniff of County cricket and are missing out on a good opportunity to improve.

Let's be honest, the likes of the T20 Blast are just easy money tournaments.

 

[hitthestump]

Australia is a good environment for our players to be in. The mentality that seeps through their sports system is totally different to ours. It'll be positive exposure for Shaheen and Haider if there is an opportunity for them there.

 

[shah_1]

Both will be busy with NZ tour then SA tour so they will not be available for BBL