Shadab Khan will play all the home games for Trinbago Knight Riders

The Pakistani cricketers are having a time of their lives since they won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. From a very difficult group, the men in green qualified for the semis and then two superb performances saw the nation celebrating a Champions Trophy triumph for the first time ever in history. Since then, many teams from all over the world are trying to get the signatures of the players who were stars in the ‘Mini World Cup’.

While some Pakistanis were selected for the County Championship of England, many were playing in the Caribbean Premier League of Windies. While speedster Mohammad Amir was turning the heat on in England, players like Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik were plying their trades for their respective CPL franchises. But their campaign was cut short by an abrupt decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who decided to call back their players due to rescheduling.

It meant the teams who were banking on the Pakistani players are now in deep trouble. The team on which the impact of the decision will be maximum is probably Trinbago Knight Riders, the team where Pakistani spin sensation Shadab Khan plays. Khan has been brilliant for the Riders in every single match and has won two Man of the Match awards from the five matches he has played till now.

However, the only good news for the Riders is that the spinner will be leaving for Pakistan one day after Pakistan’s 70th Independence Day. Hence, he will be able to feature in the home games of TKR which will be over by then.

“Shadab’s exit will be a huge blow for us. He is the complete cricketer in terms of what he can do with the ball, bat and in the field. I also find that for a youngster, he is very knowledgeable about the game and when you put all this together, he must be a huge loss. He is going back to Pakistan on August 15, which means he will play out his home matches before leaving,” said the manager of TKR, Colin Borde as reported by Guardian.

TKR trying to find the best replacement for Shadab

When Borde was asked about whom they are trying to rope in as a replacement, he replied, “I am confident that the selection committee will come up with a good enough replacement. For the moment, we are taking it one game at a time and not taking into effect the overall picture. We have games before us at home and we will be looking to go out there and win as many of them as we can.”

Here is the complete list of players who are called back by the PCB

From Windies

Imad Wasim – Jamaica Tallawahs

Mohammad Sami – Jamaica Tallawahs

Shoaib Malik – Barbados Tridents

Wahab Riaz – Barbados Tridents

Hasan Ali – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Mohammad Hafeez – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Babar Azam – Guyana Amazon Warriors

Sohail Tanvir – Guyana Amazon Warriors

Kamran Akmal – St Lucia Stars

Shadab Khan – Trinbago Knight Riders

From England

Sarfraz Ahmed – Yorkshire

Mohammad Amir – Essex

Fakhar Zaman – Somerset