Li Kai Ming becomes first Chinese cricketer to sign professional league contract

Li Kai Ming in action during Sunday’s match against China. Image Source: cricket.com.au

Sydney Sixers, one of the eight teams of KFC Big Bash League, is all set to sign Hong Kong’s Li Kai Ming for the upcoming season.The 24-year-old will be the first Chinese player to be a part of any such major league. This league is Australia’s domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament.

A right-handed batsman and leg-spinner, Ming played a key role in Hong Kong’s win over China on Sunday. In four overs, he picked four wickets and conceded only 14 runs. Ming has played twice for his country in Global T20 Qualifiers.

Talking about this revolutionary deal, Charlie Burke, national director of Hong Kong cricket told Crocmedia, “So the Sydney Sixers have been great with that and have shown they are willing to develop the game as well. Particularly to go in to non-traditional cricket backgrounds I think is a part of it, in that they are trying to get players from non-associate nations into major franchise competitions around the world."

Ming will be signed as a Community Rookie which means in all probability he won’t be playing a match. This deal which is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks will be a boost to Hong Kong cricket.

Burke who is presently coaching at the East Asia T20 competiton, spoke about development of the game in this region. "We’ve actually had two if not three Japanese players being hosted by Prahran in Victoria on and off over the last few seasons. The cricket education is probably the hardest thing to coach at a development level. The skills are one thing but the education is another and these experiences have been really valuable", said Burke.

Burke is also looking forward to high-profile matches in Hong Kong. They have already spoken to some of the IPL teams regarding the same. He believes that Hong Kong is ready to host such matches. Burke added, “We've got a 15,000-seat custom built cricket ground in Guanghzou which could host any of that sort of cricket brilliantly.”