CANBERRA: The son of legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir has been included in an Australia Prime Minister’s XI to play a tour match against South Africa in Canberra.
The 25-year-old Usman Qadir’s father took 236 wickets in 67 Tests from 1977 to 1990 and is generally regarded as Pakistan’s best-ever leg-spinner.
The Lahore-born Usman, who moved to Australia in 2016 saying he was disenchanted with the politics surrounding the sport in his homeland, played grade cricket in Sydney last season and also had an earlier stint in the Adelaide club competition.
Usman Qadir, who also played first-class cricket in Pakistan, took 36 wickets in just six games in Sydney, figures that brought him to the attention of current Australia coach Justin Langer and former test bowler Geoff Lawson.
Qadir is not yet eligible to play for Australia. He’s hoping to qualify for a distinguished talent visa in time to be considered for Australia for the 2020 World Twenty20 tournament, which will be held in eight Australian cities.
The Prime Minister’s XI match is scheduled to be a day-nighter at Manuka Oval on Oct. 31, and will be South Africa’s only warmup for a series involving three one-day matches and a T20 against Australia.
The series will be the first between Australia and South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal in March that resulted in Australia’s test captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft receiving lengthy suspensions and the eventual resignation of coach Darren Lehmann.
