Rizwan signs for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for remainder of CPL 2025

Mohammad Rizwan has agreed a deal to join St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League 2025 (CPL). ESPNcricinfo understands the signing will be officially confirmed by the league in the next 24 hours.

The former Pakistan T20I captain has been signed as a replacement for fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is set to link up with Afghanistan ahead of the tri-series in the UAE involving Pakistan and the UAE.

It is not yet clear whether Rizwan will be available for the Patriots' match on Thursday against the Barbados Royals. But with Pakistan leaving him out of their T20 squad for that tri-series as well as the Asia Cup, the path to Rizwan's involvement elsewhere has been fully cleared. It is understood an NOC (no objection certificate) from the PCB, which enables players to take part in overseas leagues, is a formality.

It is the first time the wicketkeeper-batter will play in the CPL, and adds to a growing Pakistani roster in the tournament. It was announced earlier on Thursday that legspinner Usama Mir had signed for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, while the Patriots already have two Pakistanis in their squad: fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi. Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad are also part of this year's competition.

The signing also means that Rizwan will use up his quota of two overseas T20 leagues the PCB has stipulated as the maximum number centrally contracted players can take part in over a 12-month period starting in July. Earlier this year, he was confirmed as a signing by Melbourne Renegades for the Big Bash League.

The Patriots got off to a rocky start, following a win in their first match with three successive defeats, and sit second from bottom on the points table. They won the CPL in 2017 and 2021.