Monday, May 28, 2012

Adams eyeing Ashraful

Kent coach Jimmy Adams admits he is looking at former Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful in a bid to bolster his Twenty20 ranks.

Ashraful, who has played 57 Tests and 171 one-day internationals for his country, is in England coaching and playing for Blackheath in the Kent Premier League.

Kent were alerted about the possibility of signing the 27-year-old as their second overseas player after he made 100 against Bromley last weekend and took 3-1 with the ball.

He looks the sort of player capable of settling results and scores at County level, much to Adams’ interest.

"We have to be mindful of the players we already have as we're trying to create an environment where the players get as much of an opportunity as they can. But it's definitely something I'll look at," Adams told This is Kent.

"We still have some time left before the start of the t20 in June although finding a player hasn't been looking too good for us up to now. Azhar (Mahmood) is back in the next few days and we have enough to work with if we can't get someone in."

Ashraful has scored 289 runs in 16 t20 internationals at an average of 18.06, with a highest score of 65 against Pakistan in 2010.

He is team-mates with Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond at Blackheath, while he featured alongside Azhar Mahmood and Darren Stevens for the Dhaka Gladiators on their way to winning the Bangladesh Premier League earlier this year.

Blackheath skipper Chris Willetts insisted he would not prevent Ashraful from leaving the club but believes visa regulations could prove to be a snag in any deal.

 "We'd never stand in the way of any player going on to play better cricket," said Willetts.

"It's his choice if he wants to do that but there may be a problem with the visa that he's on if Kent want to sign him."

Those interested in betting on sports, and in particular cricket, will no doubt be keeping a close eye on this developing story.

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