Gladiators call on veteran Hodge

His future at the Adelaide Strikers is uncertain, but veteran batsman Brad Hodge is set to take to the field in the Pakistan Super League next month.

The 42-year-old has been drafted into Quetta Gladiators’ squad as late replacement for Moeen Ali, who will not play for the Twenty20 franchise because of family reasons.

The Strikers missed a finals berth under the captaincy of Hodge this season, finishing in sixth position with a 3-5 record.

But the decorated right-hander plundered 286 runs at 40.85, hitting half-centuries against perennial contender Perth Scorchers and the Hobart Hurricanes.

Hodge is one of only three players to score more than 7000 runs in T20 fixtures – along with Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum – and his form for the Strikers suggests he hasn’t lost his appetite to score runs.

Hodge is no stranger to the PSL and represented Peshawar Zalmi last year.

The Gladiators were runners-up in the inaugural edition of the PSL, which was won by Islamabad United.

Hodge will join English trio Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and David Willey – who all played in this summer’s BBL – at the Gladiators.

Hodge said earlier this month that he hoped to continue at the Strikers.

“I’m gonna play, where that’s at who knows?” he said.

“We just have to wait and see.

“I feel like I’m contributing and contributing well.

“We’ve seen the quality of (45-year-old Renegades spinner Brad) Hogg, and I think I’ve played pretty well this year. I love it.

“I would like to stay here (with Adelaide), this is a great place to play cricket and I feel I contribute well and teach the guys how to get better.

“And there will be guys that learn from this experience, over the past couple of years I’ve really helped a few people like Travis Head and Alex Ross and there’s a few more that are going to come through that we need to teach.

“That aspect of it is really cool, but who knows where you end up.

“I must say I’m out of contract so we’ll find out soon enough.”

Ali, who is in India with England’s ODI squad, has opted to join members of his family on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Gladiators tweeted: "@MoeenAli is a top player and a great person. We respect his decision to honour his family commitment first. Good Luck Moeen."

The Gladiators will start their campaign against the Lahore Qalandars at Dubai Cricket Stadium on February 10.