Canadian all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar to play in Caribbean Premier League

Jul 8, 2020 | 8:31 AM

TORONTO — Canadian all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar has been drafted by the St. Lucia Zouks for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League cricket season.

The Barbados Tridents are looking to defend their T20 title in the CPL season, which runs Aug 29 to Sept. 26. Because of COVID-19, all the CPL matches will be played in Trinidad and Tobago.

The other teams are the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, St. Kitts Patriots and Trinidad and Tobago Knight Riders.

The 33-year-old Bin Zafar was called into the St. Kitts squad as a replacement player for the CPL 2018 playoffs. Fellow Canadian Nitish Kumar has also played in the CPL.

Bin Zafar, a left-arm spinner, made his T20 debut for Canada in February 2010 in Abu Dhabi against the United Arab Emirates. He has appeared in 12 T20 matches since 2019 after the International Cricket Council deemed that matches by associate countries count as internationals.

In that recent spell, he has taken 17 wickets at a 16.76 average and scored 43 runs from four innings for a 14.33 average.

Bin Zafar stood out at the 2018 Global T20 Canada Tournament in King City, Ont., scoring 79 not out to lead the Vancouver Knights to victory over the West Indies B Team in the championship game. Zafar hit eight fours and three sixes.

As a bowler, Bin Zafar took 2-26 off his allocated four overs.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2020.

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The Canadian Press