Two Pakistan-born bowlers and two promising Trinidad and Tobago players are featured on TKR Profiles today.
All four have won at least one title with the Trinbago Knight Riders during their time with the franchise.
Yasir Shah represents the country of his birth at the international level, while Ali Khan plays for the USA, the country he settled in as a teenager.
Both Tion Webster and Akeem Hosein struggled to nail down a place in their early years of franchise cricket, but now seem poised for bigger things.
YASIR SHAH
Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah won the 2017 Caribbean Premier League title with the Trinbago Knight Riders. He was called in late after countryman Shadab Khan was recalled to Pakistan for an international series. Yasir played in the Knight Riders' six-wicket win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Qualifier 2 before playing in the final, when the Knight Riders beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by three wickets. The 35-year-old has played T20 cricket for the Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League and with the Lahore Qalanders and the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League. Yasir has taken 106 wickets in 124 matches at an average of 29.96.
ALI KHAN
Pakistan-born fast bowler Ali Khan made a thrilling debut in the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League when he dismissed Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakarra with his first ball. He played only one match for the Guyana Amazon Warriors. However, he would make quite an impression in 2018 when he turned out for the Trinbago Knight Riders. Khan took 16 wickets at 20.80 with his searing yorkers at a high pace, as the Knight Riders went on to win the CPL title. He claimed 10 wickets in the 2019 season and eight in the 2020 tournament when the Knight Riders won the title for the fourth time. Limited to eight appearances due to injury, Khan returns with 39 matches and 40 wickets in T20 matches around the world. His T20 experience includes a stint in 2020 with the IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Pakistan Super League outfit, Islamabad United.
TION WEBSTER
Trinidad and Tobago batsman Tion Webster made his Caribbean Premier League debut in 2017 when he was drafted in to play two matches for the Barbados Tridents. He played another brace of matches with the Tridents in 2018 before moving to the Trinbago Knight Riders in 2019. He would play only three matches in the 2019 season, but his 66 not out against the Jamaica Tallawahs at the Queen's Park Oval made many people sit up and take notice. While Webster did not quite capture attention in quite the same way in the 2020 tournament, his 41 not out off 33 balls against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots was a timely reminder of his enormous talent. He also hit 44 not out against the Tallawahs in the 2020 semi-finals to help the Knight Riders qualify for the final. Webster's form has not diminished in 2021. In a four-day trial match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, earlier in August, Webster struck a brilliant 141.
AKEAL HOSEIN
Left-arm orthodox spinner Akeal Hosein had his best season in the Caribbean Premier League in 2020 when he won the title with the Trinbago Knight Riders. The 28-year-old took 10 wickets at 15.00 at a stunning economy rate of 5.60. Hosein's control and his ability to deal with pressure, as shown in the 2020 CPL, won him debuts on the West Indies ODI and T20I teams during the past 12 months. He played 30 games with the Barbados Tridents between 2014 and 2017, taking only 13 wickets at 36.30. However, since joining the Knight Riders in 2019, he has improved his average to 20.20 in 10 games and taking 10 wickets. Hosein is a man on the improve and 2021 could be a breakout year for him in the CPL.
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