Melbourne Renegades have signed the Pakistani duo of Faheem Ashraf and Usman Shinwari for the upcoming season of the Big Bash League.
While the left-arm pacer, Shinwari, will be available for the first seven games of the season for the defending champions, the all-rounder Ashraf will be there for eight matches. They will be replaced by England’s Harry Gurney and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi respectively for the remainder of the tournament.
While Ashraf will be featuring in his maiden BBL stint, Shinwari was a part of the Renegades’ setup last season as well, where he played seven games and picked up eight wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6.14. He also bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament, delivering a ball at 151 km/hr against Melbourne Stars.
Gurney, who will be replacing Shinwari, also featured for Renegades last season and impressed with his speed variations bowling in the death. Nabi, on the other hand, will be returning for his third season of the T20 league. In the two seasons so far, he has played 21 matches, picking 16 wickets and scoring 316 runs.
“I’m pleased with how we’re shaping up,” Michael Klinger, Renegades’ new head coach, said. “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.
“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.”
