Perth Scorchers have signed Usman Qadir, the son of Pakistan leg-spin great Abdul Qadir, as cover for Ashton Agar for the upcoming Big Bash League season, Perth Scorchers announced Monday.
Qadir, 25, has been living in Sydney for the last 12 months playing for Hawkesbury in the NSW Premier Cricket competition.
“This is my dream come true, I have wanted to play Big Bash since it started, this is a big opportunity for me and I hope that I can help the Scorchers do well this season.”
The 25-year-old leg spinner was called up by the current Australian Head Coach Justin Langer to see him [Qadir] bowl in the nets.
?? it in! Usman Qadir has joined the Scorchers #MADETOUGH ?????? #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/19qTCpFDJf
— Perth Scorchers (@ScorchersBBL) September 10, 2018
“Last year when Justin Langer called me and said “I want to see you bowl” - it was very exciting. I went to Brisbane to train with the team before their game and after the training we all talked and got along well.
Scorchers’ Head Coach Adam Voges was impressed by the leggie when he joined the squad for training last season.
“He’s an exciting prospect who brings a lot of energy to the side. We liked what we saw when he joined us for a few training sessions last BBL season.”
Qadir played club cricket for Adelaide and appeared for South Australia’s Futures League team in 2012-13 when he first considered becoming an Australian in a bid to break into international ranks.
He was part of the Pakistan Super League team Lahore Qalanders but has not featured in any games.