The Jamaica Tallawahs franchise has named South African speedster Dale Steyn to replace injuredd Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who has been ruled out of the upcoming Caribbean Premier League.
The 32-year-old Steyn is one of the world's leading Test bowlers but has already made his mark in the shortest form of the game, claiming 58 wickets from 42 Twenty20 Internationals at an economy rate of 6.71 runs per over, reports CMC.
He was a member of the South Africa side at the recent Twenty20 World Cup in India and is currently representing Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League.
"It is a great privilege to feature in the CPL for the first time and I am proud and delighted to sign up for the Jamaica Tallawahs for the forthcoming CPL season," Steyn said on Friday.
"The CPL is one of the strongest Twenty20 leagues in the world game and it's a tournament that's on the rise."
"There are some outstanding world-class players signed up across all six teams and I'm looking forward to playing against some of my great friends and team-mates, amongst them Hashim Amla, AB (de Villiers), Faf (du Plessis), David Miller and Morne (Morkel) this summer. It will certainly add a nice bit of spice to the mix."
Steyn will join overseas stars Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib-al-Hasan, along with Jamaican big names Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, forming a formidable squad for this season's campaign.
Tallawahs general manager, Mohammed Khan, said Steyn would be an asset to the 2013 CPL champions.
"We're delighted to welcome Dale to the Tallawahs family," Khan said.
"Dale is the best fast bowler in the world and a modern great. We believe he's going to be an excellent addition to an already solid team."
The 32-year-old Malinga, who has in the past played for Guyana Amazon Warriors, has failed to recover from a knee injury sustained last November.
He was also ruled out of the recent T20 World Cup and the ongoing IPL.
The CPL runs from June 29 to August 7, and also involves Barbados Tridents, St Lucia Zouks, Amazon Warriors, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders - formerly Trinidad Red Steel.
--IANS
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