Star all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi will play the next and his last edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Quetta Gladiators (QG), the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.

While addressing a press conference in Karachi, Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar told reporters that the former Pakistan captain will represent his franchise in PSL 7.

There had been rumours that Afridi may play his last edition of PSL for Quetta Gladiators since he made a statement earlier in June, expressing the desire to play for the franchise before hanging up his boots at PSL.

“If the franchise [Multan Sultans] releases me, I will prefer to represent the Quetta Gladiators in my last season,” Afridi had said in an earlier interview.

Quetta Gladiators manager Azam Khan also confirmed the development to Business Recorder. He said that Sarfaraz Ahmed will continue to lead the franchise.

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Afridi, who was part of the Galle Gladiators squad in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) last year, will miss this year’s edition due to personal reasons, Azam added. Galle Gladiators is the sister franchise of QG, owned by Nadeem Omar and managed by Azam Khan.

Meanwhile, Galle Gladiators will also play without their regular head coach Moin Khan this season. Former Pakistan bowler Umar Gul will replace him as the head coach in LPL 2021, to be played between December 5 and December 23, he confirmed.

Azam Khan said Gul has been appointed on an interim basis, as Moin is unavailable due to his son’s marriage.

Afridi has previously represented Peshawar Zalmi, which won the PSL title in 2017, Karachi Kings, and Multan Sultans in the past six years.

The star cricketer had missed out on the last edition of the PSL due to a back injury. Multan Sultans, nonetheless, went on to win their maiden title under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan.

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