Usman Khan Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf NOT to play for Melbourne Renegades in BBL 09 [Post #6]

[Abdullah719]

Pakistan's bowlers took a hammering in the Domain Test Series but the Melbourne Renegades have turned to a duo from the Asian nation to bolster their pace stocks for the KFC BBL.

The Renegades have brought back Pakistan international Usman Shinwari and signed compatriot Faheem Ashraf for the opening stages of the ninth season of the competition to complete the squad list for the defending champions.

The Pakistani pair will play in the Renegades season opener against the Sydney Thunder on December 19 in Geelong, but Shinwari will feature in only the first five matches of the season before English seamer Harry Gurney replaces him for the rest of the tournament.

Ashraf will play in the opening eight matches before Afghanistan allrounder and Renegades cult hero Mohammad Nabi returns to the side.

Ashraf, a right-arm quick and middle-order batsman has been a regular in the wicket-taking column in the Pakistan Super League, topping the charts in 2018 and finishing second in this year's tournament.

Left-arm quick Shinwari topped 150kph and claimed eight wickets in his seven-game stint with the Renegades last season, at an economy rate of 6.14.

New Renegades coach Michael Klinger gave his stamp of approval to the list the club has assembled.

"I’m pleased with how we’re shaping up. Mohammad Nabi and Harry Gurney showed their class last season so we’re glad to have them on board for the second half of the home and away season and hopefully finals,” Klinger said.

"After winning a title, the competition for spots in the XI is going to be fierce and we feel we’ve got plenty of options to cover the challenges that we’ll be confronted with throughout the season.”

The Brisbane Heat were the other BBL club to finalise their list today, with pace bowler Cameron Gannon and spinner Matthew Kuhnemann filling out the roster.

Gannon is currently the leading wicket-taker in the Marsh Sheffield Shield with 23 wickets at 20.69 for the Queensland Bulls, a vein of form that looks set to see him add to his 16 previous appearances for the Heat.

He is set to link up with former Melbourne Renegades teammate James Pattinson, after the Victoria bowler was suspended for a personal slur allegedly directed at Gannon during a recent Shield meeting.

Left-arm, 23-year-old Gold Coast spinner Kuhnemann will play his second season with the Heat after featuring in three games last season.

Heat coach Darren Lehmann said he was delighted with Brisbane's bowling depth a variety, an areas that had been a weak point in previous seasons.

“They are both good lads and will give our squad depth and variety to match up in all conditions during the BBL," Lehmann said.

“Ganno has done wonderfully for the Bulls and has really thrived in that set-up this season, so hopefully this now gives him a great opportunity to execute his skills in the T20 arena again.

“Matty is a very controlled and efficient left-arm spinner and that always works in your favour when putting together a squad I believe. He’s got plenty of ability and will no doubt be keen to take his game to another level during the BBL."

The Heat open their season with the first fixture of the BBL|09 season when they host the Sydney Thunder on December 17 at the Gabba.

Brisbane Heat BBL|09 squad: Chris Lynn (c), Tom Banton (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Zahir Khan (Afghanistan), Ben Laughlin, James Pattinson, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Sam Heazlett, Matthew Renshaw, Josh Lalor, Mitch Swepson, Jack Prestwidge, Mark Steketee, Jimmy Peirson, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Kuhnemann, Cameron Gannon.

Melbourne Renegades BBL|09 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan), Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Tom Cooper, Zak Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Harry Gurney (England), Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Kane Richardson, Usman Shinwari (Pakistan), Will Sutherland, Beau Webster, Jack Wildermuth.

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/mel...e-shinwari-ashraf-gannon-kuhnemann/2019-12-04

 

[gazza619]

Faheem being picked for both for county cricket and then for BBL shows the lack of quality in these leagues

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Good. Keeps faheem away from the international side unless he proves himself.

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

faheeemmm damn.. what do they even see in him?
am i missing something?

 

[topspin]

Wow what a blunder this! Makes me wonder who make up the think tank for Melbourne Renegades.

They will regret signing Faheem. He was poor for Northants and he will struggle even more on these fast Aussie pitches.

 

[MenInG]

Melbourne Renegades have been forced into a major reshuffle of their overseas players after their two Pakistan recruits, Usman Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf, became unavailable on the eve of the KFC Big Bash season.

It's understood uncapped English quick Richard Gleeson has been secured as a last-minute replacement and is expected to be available for the reigning BBL champions' season opener next week against Sydney Thunder on December 19 in Geelong.

His countryman Harry Gurney, a death-overs specialist who played an integral role in the Gades' maiden title last summer, will now be available for the whole tournament.

The reshuffle comes after Shinwari was selected to make his Test debut for Pakistan against Sri Lanka this week in their long-awaited return to playing at home.

Having only been announced as one of the Renegades' signings last week, Shinwari's call-up over the weekend took the club by surprise and forced them into an eleventh-hour scramble to find a replacement.

The loss of the Pakistani quick was then compounded earlier this week when they discovered Ashraf, the other overseas player they planned on having for the beginning of the season, had been held back to play domestic cricket in Pakistan.

Neither Shinwari nor Ashraf is expected to play in the BBL this season.

Instead, Gleeson has signed for the first eight games of the season before he is replaced by Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi.

Gurney had only originally been signed for the back-end of the tournament but is now expected to be available for their entire campaign.

BBL clubs are only allowed to field two international players in any one game, but new rules permit teams to have up to six overseas players on their books for the season.

"It's obviously unfortunate to lose Shinwari and Ashraf on the eve of the season but sometimes that's the nature of T20 cricket in a busy international schedule," new Renegades coach Michael Klinger said in a statement.

"We know things can change quickly with international players and we need to be ready to respond."

Gleeson has a strong record in England's domestic T20 competition with a career economy rate of 7.47 with Northamptonshire and Lancashire, and last month featured in the T10 league in the UAE.

The 32-year-old is a late bloomer having only made his first-class debut in a tour match against Australia during the 2015 Ashes tour, but quickly made his mark with Northamptonshire and last year played for the England Lions on a tour of the Caribbean.

"Richard bowls with genuine pace and is capable of hitting the areas that make it difficult for batsmen to score on a regular basis," said Klinger.

"His skills in the power play and at the death have resulted in him being one of the best T20 bowlers in the UK T20 Blast in recent years."

The absence of Shinwari, for the early part of the season at least, will be a blow for the Renegades after he made a considerable impact in his seven-game BBL stint last summer.

The left-armer topped the 150kph mark and took eight wickets at 21.50, while his economy rate of 6.14 was superb considering he bowled in the Power Play and the latter overs.

The Renegades' maiden title last summer was built largely on the back of frugal bowling, while their batting stocks have been boosted with the recruitment of prolific BBL star Shaun Marsh from the Perth Scorchers.

Of the XI that defeated crosstown rivals Melbourne Stars in last season's final, only Cameron White (Adelaide Strikers) and Chris Tremain (Sydney Thunder) have departed.

Melbourne Renegades squad: Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Boyce, Dan Christian, Tom Cooper, Zak Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Richard Gleeson (England), Harry Gurney (England), Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Kane Richardson, Will Sutherland, Beau Webster, Jack Wildermuth.

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/mel...n-replace-pakistan-shinwari-ashraf/2019-12-12

 

[ARK Rafay]

So Faheem also can't go because of domestic cricket. I don't understand what's the stance of PCB on this. They allow current players for Mzansi Super League and stop certain players whenever they want, whom ever they want. Do they even know what they are doing?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

So Faheem also can't go because of domestic cricket. I don't understand what's the stance of PCB on this. They allow current players for Mzansi Super League and stop certain players whenever they want, whom ever they want. Do they even know what they are doing?

I suspect this news is inaccurate as there is no domestic cricket going on. Faheem is going through rehab.

 

[Abdullah719]

So Faheem also can't go because of domestic cricket. I don't understand what's the stance of PCB on this. They allow current players for Mzansi Super League and stop certain players whenever they want, whom ever they want. Do they even know what they are doing?

Central Punjab are in the final of the QEA Trophy so they want him to play there. He could go and join his BBL side after that, but the Renegades want him to be available for all the matches.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Central Punjab are in the final of the QEA Trophy so they want him to play there. He could go and join his BBL side after that, but the Renegades want him to be available for all the matches.

Makes more sense.

 

[minamino]

PCB need to compensate players for this and increase the salary cap for PSL at least to $500k

 

[Mean&Green]

They must be seeing something in this guy that we are not oh boy I am surprised because bbl is the only t20 league that doesn’t pick any Tom dick and hardy but this time they’ve surprised me

 

[minamino]

They must be seeing something in this paindu that we are not oh boy I am surprised because bbl is the only t20 league that doesn’t pick any Tom dick and hardy but this time they’ve surprised me

Who told you BBL doesn't pick average players? Look at their overseas contingent from previous seasons, superstars like Usman Qadir, Rana Naveed, Gurney, Willey, has-been Muralitharan and countless more players. They were told by the broadcasters to sign star players or they would buy TV rights for peanuts.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Safe to say richard gleeson must be ecstatic right now.

 

[hadi123]

It's a long tournament. Why can't they just join after their commitments.

 

[Abdullah719]

It's a long tournament. Why can't they just join after their commitments.

I guess it's not worth it for the Renegades. UKS was only going to be available for the first 5 games, he'll miss the first 3 matches because of the 2nd Test against SL. Faheem was going to be available for the first 8 games, he'd miss 4-5 games if he joined after the QEA final.

 

[Barragan]

Next years T20 WC is in Aus, so might as well let them play there and get experience, which they can also share with the rest of group.

 

[Saj]

This is where PCB is causing problems for the players.

Why not say they can't play in it before they were signed or say to them that you might not get the ok from the Board.

At the moment, the teams sign players, players sign contracts, players then have to say sorry I can't play.

 

[Titan24]

This is where PCB is causing problems for the players.

Why not say they can't play in it before they were signed or say to them that you might not get the ok from the Board.

At the moment, the teams sign players, players sign contracts, players then have to say sorry I can't play.

To be honest Shinwari being selected for tests wasnt something which couldnt have been predicted initially and same is the case CP which Faheem is a member of going to the finals.

I guess contracts already mention international commitments but not sure about domestic commitments which PCB should add if its must for players to play.

 

[Saj]

Don't be surprised if more Pakistan bowlers head down the Amir/Wahab route due to NOCs not being given for T20 tournaments by the PCB.

 

[aloo paratha]

Don't be surprised if more Pakistan bowlers head down the Amir/Wahab route due to NOCs not being given for T20 tournaments by the PCB.

I don't know why we bundle Amir and Wahab together, one is 34, the other is 27. One has proven that he'll run in and give it his all when he's in Pakistan colours, the other looks like he's being forced to play 80% of the time regardless of the format. Not only that, one of them has sold his country for some cash.

 

[b.lesner]

will Melbourne Renegades ever buy Pakistan players or for that matter other BBL team seeing the Melbourne Renegades carnage