Texas Super Kings Sign Imran Tahir After Ambati Rayudu Withdraws From Inaugural Major League Cricket

Imran Tahir has played for CSK in the IPL in the past. He was part of the championship-winning Chennai squad in 2018 and 2021.

Imran Tahir of Guyana Amazon Warriors celebrates getting the wicket of Raymon Reifer of Jamaica Tallawahsduring the Qualifier 2 match between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs in the Men's 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League at Providence Stadium on September 29, 2022 in Georgetown, Guyana.

Source : Getty Images

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)-owned Texas Super Kings have announced the signing of leg-spinner Imran Tahir for the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC). Their decision to sign Tahir comes days after the franchise had confirmed the withdrawal of Ambati Rayudu due to personal reasons. Both Rayudu and Tahir, much like several other players in the Texas Super Kings, have played for CSK at some point or are associated with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise even now.

Squad Update!#WhistleForTexas #MajorLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/ruRlq4dGrL

— Texas Super Kings (@TexasSuperKings) July 7, 2023

"Imran Tahir in yellow, again!" a social media announcement from the Texas Super Kings  was captioned. The clip read: "A veteran, legend, super king, spin sensation - Imran Tahir," the clip read.

Imran Tahir in yellow, again! 🦁💛#WhistleForTexas #MajorLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/1otR72dbPK

— Texas Super Kings (@TexasSuperKings) July 12, 2023

Tahir was a key part of CSK in the past. He played 27 matches for the Men in Yellow and scalped 35 wickets. He was part of the championship-winning side in 2018 as well as 2021. In total, the South African cricketer featured in 59 IPL games in which he picked 82 wickets. The IPL isn't the only franchise league that he has been part of. The leggie has a rich experience of playing T20 leagues around the world and has also participated in the Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League among others.

Tahir has played 378 T20 matches in his career so far in which he has picked 469 wickets at an average of 20.10 and an economy rate of 6.98. His T20I record is even more superb, having represented South Africa in 38 T20Is. In these fixtures, he has taken 63 wickets an even better average of 15.04 and a miserly economy of 6.73, better than his overall T20 career. His produced his best bowling figure in T20 cricket also while donning the Proteas jersey, registered figures of 5/23.