Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan opening batsman Azhar Ali has signed a contract with English county Somerset for the remaining part of the season. This will be the first time when the 33-year-old Azhar will take part in a county stint. Azhar, who had been in Somerset’s sights since the end of Pakistan’s Test tour in May and June, has been signed as a replacement for the Australian Matt Renshaw, who made three centuries at 51.30 in the opening rounds of the Championship before breaking a finger against Surrey at Guildford last month. Renshaw had himself been signed as a replacement for his fellow Australian opener, Cameron Bancroft, who was withdrawn from availability in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town in March. Azhar will feature in the remaining seven matches for the county side.

Earlier Head coach Mickey Arthur had encouraged Azhar, along with middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq, to play county cricket because of lack of playing time for the duo in the upcoming months. “Our chosen players, we’re hoping to get Azhar and Asad to play some county cricket,” said Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur. “There is a little bit of interest at the moment, for a short period of time. Because those guys don’t go to these T20 leagues and stuff, if they were to play county cricket we’d certainly encourage that,” Arthur added.

Azhar endured a lean time during Pakistan’s three Tests against Ireland and England earlier this season, making 73 runs in six innings with a solitary fifty during Pakistan’s memorable victory at Lord’s.

“The standard of first-class cricket in England is very high and I hope that I can make a contribution to Somerset winning matches,” Azhar said. “I have heard good things about Somerset and I was impressed by what I saw at Taunton in 2016. I am looking forward to joining my new team-mates and meeting the Somerset supporters soon,” Azhar said.

Published in Daily Times, July 17^th 2018.