adminLEG-SPINNER Brandon Mavuta and all-rounders Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams have all secured contracts to play in the Mzansi Super League in South Africa in November and December.
Both Williams and Raza were picked up by Tshwane Spartans, Williams securing R350 000 ($ 24 500) while Raza earned R100 000 ($7 000).
They will join a strong line-up that also includes AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Lungi Ngidi and Dean Elgar.
Mavuta will join Durban Heat for the league, which runs from 16 November to 16 December and includes 32 games in total. The 21-year-old Mavuta picked up a R180 000 deal and will allow his team the cover of a second leg-spinning option, when Rashid Khan is away at the Abu Dhabi T10 League, from 23 November to 2 December.
The three Zimbabweans were part of a group of 11 who were included in the MSL player draft, among 342 international and South African cricketers vying for 96 spots in the six league teams.
Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire, Tendai Chisoro, Chris Mpofu, Elton Chigumbura, Kyle Jarvis and Neville Madziva had also thrown their names into the hat. Surprisingly, Taylor went unpicked, but he will be part of the Abu Dhabi T10 League that overlaps with the MSL.
As is becoming the norm worldwide T20 league cricket has become increasingly important to Zimbabwe’s cricketers, who don’t play as often as their international colleagues. This year, Raza was also at the Global T20 Canada and played an important role for Paktia Panthers in the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) before joining the Zimbabwe squad on tour in Bangladesh.
He is also due to take part in Nepal’s Everest Premier League, playing for Kathmandu Kings XI, in December. — Cricinfo.
Online Reporter