Veteran leg spinner, Imran Tahir will make his return to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) when he replaces Shadab Khan for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
This was revealed by expected captain of the side, Shoaib Malik in an interview with this publication.
Khan, a 20-year-old legbreak all-rounder from Pakistan has turned out for Trinbago Knight Riders in 2017 while there will be a strong connection to the Warriors for the 40-year-old leg spinner, Tahir, having featured for the Warriors last season.
Tahir, who recently retired from 50-over international cricket was the leading wicket taker for the Warriors last season with a tally of 16 scalps at an economy rate of under six.
He was also one of four players to play each match of the Warriors’ campaign last year.
Malik pointed out that the change will take place after the first home stint for the Warriors which consists of three matches.
“Shadab, who is going to go back after three games and then Imran Tahir is joining us,” Malik stated.
Malik stressed on the importance to have the same set of players going through the entire tournament, pointing out the added benefit of a cohesive unit.
“I think the best thing is to have whoever starts the tournament, the same players should play the whole tournament in my opinion, because I have seen in the recent past, players were going and play international cricket and even the year we won 2014 for Barbados, the whole team was the same,” the former Pakistan skipper said.
He indicated that this was a good sign for the Warriors with that being the only change, along with the absence of Saurabh Netravalkar who is also unavailable due to international commitment.
“I think having if the same team in the dressing room and the playing 15 or 16 players keep doing the same thing consistently, then you have a good chance of going deep in the tournaments and of course if you have two or three good players, you end up on the winning side,” Malik stated.
Guyana Amazon Warriors have reached the final on four occasions but unable to win the title in its six-year past.
