Hafeez signs up for Caribbean Premier League

Pakistan T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has become the fourth international 'franchise player' to join the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament. The other international cricketers who have committed to playing in the league - and have been assigned icon or 'franchise player' status as well - are Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Ross Taylor.

Hafeez, who has played 43 T20I matches for Pakistan, is ranked No. 2, behind Shane Watson in the ICC rankings for allrounders. He has led Pakistan in 14 T20 games, his most recent being the second T20 against South Africa in March, where he scored 86 off 51 balls and became the first Pakistan batsman to score 1,000 runs in the format.

"The 2010 World T20 allowed me the experience playing T20 in the Caribbean and I am looking forward to playing there once again," Hafeez said. "The people in the West Indies love their cricket and I am sure the fans will get behind their teams. I also hope that cricket fans back in Pakistan and around the world will follow me during this first CPL season."

The CPL is scheduled to begin on July 29 and run till August 26. The tournament involves six franchise countries across the Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. The teams will all have one local and one international franchise player each. The players have not been assigned teams yet.