Melbourne Stars have announced that English batsman Johnny Bairstow won’t be featuring in this year’s BBL as he has been called up by the ECB to play for the country.
He was added to the Stars side a few weeks back, but today it was announced that he won’t be featuring in this edition of BBL. He has been replaced by hard hitting top order batsman Andre Fletcher from West Indies. Fletcher recently was part of the squad which played 3 T20I’s against New Zealand. The West Indies lost the series 2-0, with the third game being washed out. He is known for his big hits as he showed his power in recently concluded New Zealand series. He didn’t impact the game much, but in his short stays he showed what he could do to the bowling line up of any team. Fletcher said that he was thankful to the Stars management to bring him in to the side. He said that he always looked to play in the BBL and was hopeful to bring his type and quality of cricket to the BBL.
The Stars head coach said that the losss of Johnny Bairstow is a big one and won’t be easy to fill his boots. But he also said that Fletcher has been part of the World T20 cup winning West Indies side so he knows how to play and win in big tournaments. He will be a perfect replacement for Bairstow as he also offers wicket keeping to his name.
In the another Melbourne team of BBL, Melbourne Renegades have signed in star Pakistani all rounder Imad Wasim as a foreign national to play in this year’s BBL for them. He led his side to victory in the recently concluded PSL. He will play along side with the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Imran Tahir and Rilee Rossouw. The Renegades head coach said that Wasim is a great add to the side as he has vast experience in the T20I’s all around the world. He has played in various leagues to know how to play in different situations.
The first match of BBL will be played on 10th December between Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Sixers.
