Australia’s 24-year-old Aaron Summers is all set to become the first foreign player to feature in the revamped Pakistan’s domestic cricket by signing up for Southern Punjab for the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, which begins in Karachi from 8 January.
The PCB’s domestic competition rules allow one foreign player per side as long as the foreign player submits a Non-Objective Certificate from his home board.
The Tasmanian will arrive in Lahore on December and after a week-long training camp under Azhar Mahmood at the National High Performance Centre, will join Southern Punjab in Karachi on January 5.
Apart from Summers, Azhar, who has also been looped in for a short-term contract by Southern Punjab, will also work on Taimoor Bhatti, a 22-year-old rookie fast bowler from Rahim Yar Khan, who is yet to get a domestic exposure.
Summers, featured for Karachi Kings in the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019 and has also played for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. On his debut match for the Hurricanes in December 2017, he had outpaced Jofra Archer and Tymal Mills to earn the reputation of one of the fastest bowlers on the Australian circuit.
Aaron Summers said: “I am delighted to have been offered a contract by the Southern Punjab Cricket Association, which has proved to be one of the front-running and formidable sides in Pakistan’s domestic cricket. Pakistan is a breeding ground for the fast bowlers and while I look forward to developing as a quality fast bowler, I am equally keen to help my side performance strongly in the Pakistan Cup, which will be played on double-league format that will test my fitness, form and consistency against some of the quality batsmen to the limits. I have been following the ongoing season on social media and the quality of cricket on display has convinced me that Pakistan is the place where I can hone my skills and improve as a cricketer. My goal remains to be a top professional and I think Pakistan can help me achieve that target.”
Director – High Performance, Nadeem Khan, added: “The news of Aaron Summers featuring in the Pakistan Cup is a validation of the standard and competitive quality of our domestic events. We are aspiring to make our domestic structure robust, tough and challenging that can not only benefit our cricketers but also attract foreign cricketers – just like our cricketers who are regularly featuring in Australia and England’s domestic circuit. I am hopeful Aaron’s participation will also attract other foreign cricketers. It will also help our local players interact and integrate with players from other environments and enhance their understating of different cultures.”