Two Pakistan cricketers, Shoaib Malik and Usman Shinwari, will league with Jaffna Kings as Overseas Retained Players for the upcoming 2021 Lanka Premier League (LPL).
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Six outstanding international cricketers will join Kings for this year’s LPL of which Malik and Shinwari are key members. Shoaib Malik is a renowned cricketer who captained the Pakistan national cricket team from 2007 to 2009. His role spans from being a batting all-rounder to right-arm off-break bowler.
Malik also played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He gained international recognition after leading Pakistan to the grand finale of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Malik was also a key member of the T20 World Cup triumph in 2009 in England. His current T20 score stands at a staggering 2380. He tops the list as the cricketer who played the most number of T20 matches (120) in the history.
Malik along with Misbah-ul-Haq recorded the highest partnership for the fifth wicket (119) in T20 Internationals against Australia in 2007. These experiences made him the most seasoned T20 cricketer in the world. Malik also played for the Jaffna team during LPL 2020 and became third among highest score takers in the squad.
He is currently playing in the T20 World Cup representing Pakistan. His experience in the game as an all-rounder, which springs from almost two decades of a successful career, will surely become invaluable for Jaffna Kings to face the cut-throat competition of the 2021 LPL.
Usman Khan Shinwari is a Pakistan cricketer and will team up with Kings as a left-arm swing bowler. In December 2013, he drove ZTBL to victory in the national T20 final with impressive figures of 5 wickets for 9 runs in four overs. He has played in 96 T20 matches and has taken an impressive 116 wickets, earning the respect from the cricket community.
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In 2019 he recorded his best ODI bowling figures taking five wickets for 34 runs in a match against Sri Lanka. Shinwari played many league tournaments and has reached near perfection in his craft. He was also a part of the winning Jaffna team in last year’s LPL tournament. With an impressive record under his belt, he will make a perfect fit for the Jaffna Kings in the upcoming LPL.
Jaffna Kings continues to strengthen international ties by retaining outstanding foreign players. Recently, two renowned cricketers, Francois du Plessis and Wahab Riaz, joined Kings for the LPL 2021. Forming such important international alliances will offer Jaffna Kings a competitive advantage to face the heat of 2021 LPL
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