Shahid Afridi renews Qalandars association in Abu Dhabi T10, named team's icon player

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been signed by Lahore Qalandars as an icon player where he will represent the franchise in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. The CEO of Lahore Qalandars, Sameen Rana welcomed Afridi in a statement saying that the Pakistan veteran is an exciting and experienced cricketer. He added that the Qalandars family is proud to welcome him back as an icon player for the upcoming season of Abu Dhabi T10. Rana further said that they look forward to welcoming Afridi to Qalandars family and were hopeful that his presence will take the team to new heights in the season. 

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Shahid Afridi signed as 'icon player' by Lahore Qalandars

According to ESPNCricinfo, Afridi had signed a similar deal with the franchise in 2019, however, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) then refused to issue NOCs for all active as well as retired Pakistani players to be a part of the league which resulted in a diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and UAE. Last year, the PCB had initially given a nod to its players to feature in the league but then they decided to change their decision out of the blue stating that they are doing so in order to manage the players' workload, continued work on their fitness levels and to ensure primacy and participation of its players in its premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

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Back then, the Qalandars were affected the most by PCB's decision as they had to revamp their squad altogether. Notably, the upcoming edition of the tournament clashes with Pakistan's home series against South Africa, which is scheduled to be played from January 26 to February 14. However, according to reports, players who won't be a part of the series will be allowed by the PCB to feature in the competition.

The Abu Dhabi T10, which was originally scheduled to be played from November 18-29, had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will now be played from January 28 to February 6 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The league will feature all the eight teams that participated in the third edition of the competition last year.

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Shahid Afridi net worth

Shahid Afridi is one of the richest cricketers in the world and easily the richest cricketer in Pakistan. According to sportschampic.com, the Shahid Afridi net worth is 4.3 billion Pakistani Rupees (PKR), which translates to US $30 million. 

Disclaimer: The above Shahid Afridi net worth information is sourced from various websites and media reports. The website does not guarantee 100% accuracy of the Afridi net worth figures.  

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SOURCE: SHAHID AFRIDI INSTAGRAM