The 39-year-old leg-spinner will turn out for his fourth BBL club this summer having feared his career in Australia was over
Strikers hand veteran Fawad a Big Bash lifeline
Less than a month after conceding his career in Australia might be over, Fawad Ahmed has been thrown a lifeline by the Adelaide Strikers for the forthcoming KFC BBL season.
Despite having been a mainstay in the competition since BBL|02, taking 75 wickets in 82 games with an economy rate of 7.08, the 39-year-old feared his time in the league was up after the Perth Scorchers did not offer him a new deal for the coming season.
But the Strikers have since moved to hand Fawad a one-year deal and look set to pair him with fellow leg-spinner Rashid Khan, while the club also has Western Australia leggie Liam O'Connor on their list.
Fawad is Adelaide's 18th and final signing, meaning the club will likely have just two overseas players on their list for this season – Rashid and new recruit George Garton, a young English left-arm quick who played for Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year's IPL.
Teams can field three overseas players in the same XI, but the Strikers look set to only use two this season, unless another spot on their list becomes available.
The Strikers picked two spinners for all but one of their matches last season, with left-armer Danny Briggs and O'Connor featuring alongside Rashid, and they will hope Fawad proves a foil to the league's best bowler.
It will be the fourth club Fawad has played for after previous stints at the Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Thunder and the Scorchers.
"The ball is coming out really well at the moment and I am thankful to the Strikers for this opportunity," he said.
"I have played a lot of cricket with (assistant coach) Cameron White and I am looking forward to working with him again, as well as playing under Jason Gillespie and bowling with Rashid Khan.
"Adelaide Oval is a special place to play cricket and the wicket always spins so I’m really looking forward to playing home games there."
There had been no offers immediately forthcoming for Fawad when the Scorchers confirmed his delisting earlier this year, with every team already having at least one wrist-spinner on their roster.
The initial snub came despite him remaining an in-demand, and seemingly in-form, bowler on the global T20 circuit and news that he couldn't find a suitor had been met with bemusement amongst fellow players.
Gutted to see my good friend @bachaji23 not part of the upcoming @BBL Still one of the best leg spinners currently playing the game. Feel like we are missing out on having one of the most successful spinners in the world playing in our local competition https://t.co/vUPowLiuTq%E2%80%94 Chris Green (@chrisgreen_93) September 30, 2021
100% agree quite possibly still the best wrist spinner in the country. Don’t let age determine the decision let performances decide the outcome 🏏 best players win games @bachaji23%E2%80%94 Darren Berry (@ChuckBerry1969) October 2, 2021
He helped the St Lucia Kings to the Caribbean Premier League title last month, going at just 6.52 an over for the tournament, while he also went to both legs of the Pakistan Super League (six wickets in five games, economy rate 8.35), contracting COVID-19 during the first.
Fawad had been hurt by his axing at the Scorchers and looked resigned to the fact he may instead have to ply his trade in overseas leagues in Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates over coming months, where he said he would likely earn more money than in the BBL.
He was the Scorchers' lead spinner in their run to the BBL final last season, insisting he only had three poor games during their campaign, which ended in defeat to the Sydney Sixers in the decider at the SCG.
"I was really, really upset with the way it ended," Fawad told cricket.com.au recently. "I was still expecting another year.
"If you take those three (bad) games out of the 17, I think my performance (in BBL|10) was amazing. Especially in the back at the end of the tournament, I bowled really well in the finals and the grand final (where he took 1-16 from three overs).
"I didn't want to end my career in Australia like that. I might not be able to play again, maybe never, in Australian domestic cricket and it's pretty upsetting because I still feel I have lots of fuel left.
"I still feel that I can play for at least two or three years."
SACA's general manager of cricket Tim Nielsen said he was happy with the make-up of the Strikers squad for BBL|11, which is scheduled to start on December 5.
"(Fawad) has a proven record at this level and he brings another dimension to our bowling attack," Nielsen said.
"With our list now complete, we are really looking forward to getting everyone together to begin our campaign with the strong team we have assembled."
Meanwhile, the Melbourne Stars have revealed Englishman Joe Clarke as their first international signing of BBL|11.
Clarke, who played for the Perth Scorchers for opening part of last summer, will be available for the entire season. The 25-year-old right-hander starred for Nottinghamshire in this year's T20 Blast, opening the batting alongside Sydney Thunder recruit Alex Hales.
He joins Joe Burns and Beau Webster as new arrivals this summer for the Stars, who are also understood to be looking at a Big Bash return for Qais Ahmed and Pakistani quick Dilbair Hussain to fill their other international slots.
Adelaide Strikers BBL|11 squad: Wes Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, George Garton (ENG), Ryan Gibson, Travis Head (c), Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan (AFG), Harry Nielsen, Liam O'Connor, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall.
Melbourne Stars BBL|11 squad (so far): Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (ENG), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Seb Gotch, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell (c), Tom O'Connell, Sam Rainbird, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa.