Shahid Afridi appointed as the skipper of Galle Gladiators in LPL 2020

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi is set to lead the Galle Gladiators in the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). The Khyber Agency-born is currently training in Karachi and is expected to reach Sri Lanka on Monday, November 23. The veteran was recently a part of the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL) where he plied his trade for the Shan Masood-led Multan Sultans.

He was decent with the ball, though his team couldn’t make the final despite getting two bites at the cherry after topping the points table in the group stage. In the LPL, Afridi is expected to lead in the Gladiators’ first match against Jaffna Stallions at the Mahinda Rajapaksha International Stadium in Hambantota.

Shahid Afridi training in Karachi

“Afridi is arriving in Sri Lanka on 23rd and will be quarantined for three days and he is hoping to lead the team in the first match against Jaffna Stallions on 27th November,” the team manager, who’s also a mentor of Pakistan left-hander Fakhar Zaman, was quoted as saying in BDcrictime.

“Yes, Afridi has been training in Karachi and he will interact with the other team a day before the match,” the manager stated. Afridi has replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has pulled out due to Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand.

In the meantime, Galle’s mentor Waqar Younis is yet to reach Sri Lankan soil. “We are also hoping he will be here soon. We have also included Waqas Maqsood in the squad,” he added.

Maqsood recently played for the Karachi Kings, led by Imad Wasim. The team became the PSL champions for the first time and Maqsood picked up four wickets from two games. The left-arm pacer was also impressive for Central Punjab in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

The Gladiators have also replaced England’s Ravi Bopara with West Indies’ Johnson Charles. “West Indies wicket-keeper batsman Johnson Charles has signed the contract as the sixth overseas player of the team for the upcoming LPL tournament,” Ganeshan Vaheesan, the team official, quipped.

The LPL is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, November 26. In the opening match, Colombo Kings and Kandy Tuskers are set to lock horns in Hambantota itself.