The fast bowler will play for South Punjab in the 2021 One Day Cup, which starts on January 8.
Fast bowler Aaron Summers will make history by becoming the first Australian to participate in national cricket in Pakistan. ESPNcricinfo understands that the 24-year-old will play for South Punjab in the 2021 One-Day Cup, which begins on January 8 and runs through the end of the month. It is understood that the agreement is in its final stages, with official confirmation from the PCB being imminent. While Australia’s borders are currently closed to both departures and arrivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Summers has received a travel waiver from the Australian government, clearing the way for him to come to Pakistan.
The playing conditions of the PCB do not prevent the inclusion of foreign players, but currently limit it to a maximum of one per side. However, they should make sure they get a Certificate of No Objection (NOC) from their local board and their team should request their inclusion a month before the start of the season or by special request afterwards. It is understood that Southern Punjab made a special request, given that the 2020-21 season is underway, which the PCB appears ready to approve.
Cases of foreign cricketers playing on the Pakistani domestic circuit have generally been rare, though not completely unheard of. Fourteen Afghan players participated in the Afghan Cheetahs in the 2011-12 T20 Faysal Cup. Yamin Ahmadzai, Afghanistan’s fast pitcher, played five first-class games in Pakistan in 2016-17. Zimbabwe’s all-rounder Sikandar Raza played in the T20 National Cup that same season. In 2009, former England Uunder-19 player Bilal Shafayat played for Habib Bank, while Afghanistan fast pitcher Hamid Hassan represented Pakistan Customs. It was also a side that Mohammad Nabi had previously represented, and a pair of cricketers from Zimbabwe were believed to be considering signing first-class contracts in Pakistan, only for those deals to ultimately backfire.
PCB President Ehsan Mani said in a podcast this year that he would like to see foreign cricketers playing on Pakistan’s first-class system, but the chances of this happening were considered quite remote. The first-class system restructuring, which dramatically reduced the number of teams from 16 to just six, eliminating all departments in the process, further reduced the number of players that could potentially be on display. And although several high-profile foreign players have now played in the Pakistan Super League, the first-class system is not considered as attractive.
That the first foreign player lined up to play first-class cricket in Pakistan is Australian is also not insignificant. They are the only full member who has not toured Pakistan this century. Australia’s last visit was in 1999, with the ‘A’ team on tour in 2007. However, several high-profile Australians have played PSL in Pakistan, and a World XI that played three T20Is in Lahore in 2017 included Tim Paine, the current captain of the test side.
Historic agreement aside, in the summers, South Punjab will get a fast fast pitcher to complement the options they have in their ranks. Summers was selected by the Karachi Kings in the 2019 PSL and played two games without making much of an impression, and remained without a pick this year.
He rose to fame in the Big Bash League thanks to his fierce pace, beating an attack on debut that also included Jofra Archer and Tymal Mills. The meteoric rise that such an explosive pace had suggested hasn’t quite worked out for Summers, but the one-day Cup in Pakistan represents an intriguing, if unusual, opportunity to resurrect his career.
Danyal Rasool is deputy editor of ESPNcricinfo. @ Danny61000
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