Photo Credit: Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars have boosted their spin stocks with the signing of Afghanistan international Qais Ahmad for the KFC BBL|11 season.
21 year-old leg spinner Ahmad is familiar with the BBL after stints with the Hurricanes in BBL|08 and BBL|09.
Ahmad is the club’s second international signing following confirmation last week that English batter/wicketkeeper Joe Clarke has signed for the upcoming season.
Ahmad, who has made his Test and T20 International debut for Afghanistan, is in-demand in T20 competitions worldwide, with experience in the Caribbean Premier League, Pakistan Super League and the Lanka Premier League.
He represented the Welsh Fire in the recent The Hundred competition and in September played for Kent in England’s domestic T20 Cup.
Ahmad said he was looking forward to returning to the BBL.
“I’m happy to have signed with the Melbourne Stars and to get an opportunity to play at the MCG and develop my skills working with some of the great players in the squad,” Ahmad said.
“I’m looking forward to spending some of the summer in Melbourne and hopefully playing some exciting cricket for all the fans in green.”
In a quirk of fixturing, Ahmad has played against the Stars three times before, but never at the MCG.
Melbourne Stars BBL Head Coach David Hussey said Ahmad would be an important part of the bowling lineup.
“Pretty pleased to be able to get Qais into the squad for the summer and have another quality leg-spinning option in our match ups. It’s a great opportunity for Qais and Adam Zampa to work together,” Hussey said.
“It’ll be particularly important towards the back end of the tournament when Adam Zampa may be away in Australia’s ODI and T20 International squads and it’ll be a good left and right arm spin combination having Qais and Clint Hinchliffe available.”
Ahmad is committed to the Abu Dhabi T10 League which commences on November 20 but is expected to be available to the Stars around the third or fourth game of the season.
Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch welcomed the news which was announced on the new series of Stars TV on Thursday night.
Now in its second season and hosted by GoggleBox favourites Adam Densten and Symon Lovett, the successful digital TV product is simulcast live on Kayo from the MCG.
“It’s fantastic to have Qais on board and have such a quality emerging international talent on our roster. He’ll be a fantastic ambassador to Stars fans around the world,” Crouch said.
“We’re really pleased to be able to bring Stars TV back for a second consecutive season based on the success of the debut episodes last year. I’d like to thank Kayo for their support and hope fans enjoy the inside-the-walls chats and plenty of fun with our players this season.”
Name of Author: Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are a Twenty20 cricket franchise based in Melbourne, Victoria, competing in Australia’s Big Bash League. The team wears a green uniform and plays its home matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
