Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir’s participation in this year’s The Hundred – the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new limited-overs tournament – is in doubt.
Tahir has been recruited by the Manchester Originals. The franchise also has New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner and Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian. Former Proteas Dane Vilas and Wayne Parnell, too, are in the Manchester squad.
The tournament, though, won’t likely go ahead this year amid the preventative measures in place amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Vilas, meanwhile, isn’t necessarily an advocate of the competition being played without spectators.
‘I think for all the work that has gone into The Hundred it needs to be a showpiece,’ Vilas told the Press Association.
‘That’s what the ECB wants and needs it to be. The timing is unfortunate and of course it is tough and disappointing for the players.
‘But The Hundred was about targeting a new fanbase, that was the take: bring different people, some new people, and it’s important that fans can actually come and see the cricket.
‘There’s no better way to experience the joy and get into it than by watching live. To get the competition up and running you need to make the best of that.’
Former Proteas head coach Gary Kirsten is the coach of the Welsh Fire in The Hundred. Former Proteas cricketers Simon Harmer and Colin Ingram are with the Fire, too.
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