South African allrounder Wayne Waleed Parnell has signed on to play at the upcoming 10th Edition of the US Open Cricket tournament, this according to captain of the US All Stars Zishawn Qureshi.
The left arm spinner Qureshi said he expects great things from Parnell who has been travelling the world showcasing his talent in various T20 leagues. “We are happy with the acquisition of Parnell, who I think will bring a lot to the US Open T20 tournament. He has been a standout player in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for the past few editions and we saw him play at the Central Broward Regional Park for the Tridents.”
The 10th edition of the tournament takes place from December 12 to 16 at the Central Broward Regional Park and final preparations are taking place by organisers Cricket Council USA (CCUSA). Teams are also finalising their picks and Parnell will join other talent like the West Indian duo of Samuel Badree and Rayad Emrit, as well as the American poster boy Muhammad Ali Khan on the US All Stars team. Also packed in there are Canadians Rizwan Cheema and Hamza Tariq, as well as United States batsman Jaskaran Malhotra who scored two centuries during the last tournament.
Former IPL player Rajesh Sharma is again included in the line-up as well as Pakistani player Faisal Iqbal. There is also English flavour on the team in the form of Worcestershire’s Ross Whitley. So the US All stars will include players from America, West Indies, England, Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and India.
Qureshi, who was on the winning US All Stars team in 2016 wants to return to the top : “We are making a significant investment into this team, with the hope that we can return to glory. We tasted success in 2016 and then lost in the finals last year to Somerset Cavalliers. We have a talented team on paper and once these guys play to their potential, we are lift the crown again. We are going to take it one match at a time and keep fighting as a unit all the way.”
