Hampshire eye Afridi for CLT20

Hampshire hope to sign Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi for the Champions League Twenty20 even though he did not appear for them during the Friends Life t20.

The rules of the Champions League state that a player must be registered in the qualifying period. The rules do not insist that the player has actually appeared in a game. Afridi was due to appear for Hampshire this season, but was unable to play due to issues in obtaining a visa. The club have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he was satisfactorily registered in order to sign him for the Champions League.

When Afridi became unavailable Hampshire signed Glenn Maxwell, the Australian allrounder, who became an instant hit as he scored 179 runs at a strike-rate of 175.49 and claimed seven wickets in nine matches. His success earned him a call-up to the Australia squad for the World Twenty20 and current series against Pakistan in the UAE.

Hampshire and Yorkshire, who were the losing finalists in the FLt20, must go through another qualifying event in South Africa in order to enter the full Champions League. Hampshire have been drawn in a group with New Zealand side, Auckland Aces, and Pakistan side, Sialkot Stallions. Only the team that tops the group will enter the main League. The other two will be eliminated without earning any prize money.