Caribbean Premier League
From ESPNcricinfo staff
Rohrer, Shehzad and Jacobs drafted in for CPL
Ben Rohrer, Ahmed Shehzad and Davy Jacobs have been drafted into the Caribbean Premier League as replacements for Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, after the Australian trio was unable to get no-objection certificates from Cricket Australia.
Rohrer will replace his countryman Smith for Antigua Hawksbills, Pakistan opener Shehzad will step in for Marsh for Jamaica Tallawahs, and South African wicketkeeper Jacobs will be coming in for Finch for Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel.
Rohrer, who scored 295 runs at a strike-rate of 152.09 in the 2012-13 edition of the Big Bash League, said that he was relishing the prospect of working with Hawksbills coach Viv Richards and Ricky Ponting, who is part of the squad.
Shehzad was part of the Pakistan squad that won the 2009 World Twenty20 and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup. He has scored two domestic T20 centuries and has a strike-rate of 134.23.
“Losing Shaun is a shame but we have got a like-for-like replacement with Ahmed Shehzad who is perfect for the team’s balance,” Paul Nixon, the Tallawahs coach, said. Nixon also praised Shehzad’s “special ability” as a top-order batsman.
“Chris (Gayle) knows him well and we believe that he will be a match-winner who can really make his mark on the world stage. He is a very gifted and classy player and we feel he is the last piece in our jigsaw.”
Jacobs, like Shehzad and Rohrer, initially missed out on a spot with one of the six franchises in the draft in June. He captained South African franchise Warriors to their first ever Twenty20 title in 2010-11.
“Davy Jacobs is a proven performer in Twenty20 cricket,” Gordon Greenidge, coach of the Red Steel, said. “The fact he can bat anywhere in the top order is great as it provides us with real flexibility and I like the balance of our squad.
“He will add steel to the Red Steel dressing room and bring a winning mentality and vast experience to the squad.”
The inaugural Caribbean Premier League starts on July 30 in Barbados and concludes on August 24 in Trinidad.
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Related story:
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim resigns a day after selecting Pakistan squad for tour of Caribbean
By: Rizwan Ali, The Associated Press From Brandon Sun
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan chief selector Iqbal Qasim resigned on Thursday only a day after choosing the national team for the tour of West Indies.
Pakistan Cricket Board acting chairman Najam Sethi said in a statement that Qasim asked to be relieved after his extended contract expired on Wednesday.
Qasim’s one-year contract finished in April but the PCB suspended chairman Zaka Ashraf asked the former test left-arm spinner to continue until choosing the limited-overs team to play West Indies this month.
“I wish him well and shall continue to seek his advice and guidance on cricketing matters in the future,” Sethi said.
It was Qasim’s second stint as chief selector in three years. He was the chief in 2010 when Australia whitewashed Pakistan in test, one-day and Twenty20 series, but stepped down soon after that before he was reappointed by Ashraf last year.
“I requested the board to relieve me from my duties as I want to dedicate more time to some domestic issues which otherwise were being neglected,” Qasim said.
“The selection process was consuming a very large part of my daily schedule which I was finding difficult to handle considering that I am also a full-time employee with a bank.”
Over the last 15 months, Qasim’s selected teams won for Pakistan the Asia Cup, a one-day series against India, and Twenty20 series against Australia and South Africa.
The list of losses includes test series defeats against Sri Lanka and South Africa; defeats in ODI series against Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa; defeat in the semifinals of the World Twenty20 and all three group matches in the Champions Trophy last month.
Pakistan also drew two Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka and India.
Sethi has warned the selectors they may be held accountable for Pakistan’s defeats.
The PCB also said in a statement it will consider a new selection committee and chairman “at an appropriate time.”
After the tour of West Indies, Pakistan is scheduled to play test and ODI series in Zimbabwe in August
PHOTO: Pakistan ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq, right, speaks as chief selector Iqbal Qasim, center, looks on during a press conference in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Pakistan has recalled flamboyant allrounder Shahid Afridi for the five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s against West Indies in the Caribbean this month. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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