Shane Watson signs up for the Pakistan Super League

Shane Watson became the 152^nd overseas player to sign up for the PSL

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson became the latest high-profile cricketer to sign up for the Pakistan Super League, cricket.com.au reports. The first edition of the PSL will be held in the UAE early next year and Watson became the 152nd overseas player, joining the likes of Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen in confirming their presence at the T20 event.

Watson, who announced his retirement from Test cricket following Australia’s 3-2 Ashes series loss against England, having featured only in the series opener before being dropped from the side, is currently playing in the Matador Cup back home in Australia as he attempts to force his way back to the limited-overs side.

Watson was ruled out of the ODI series that followed the Ashes due to injury and his replacement in both formats, Mitchell Marsh, has impressed the selectors with his performances with both bat and bowl casting further doubt on Watson’s international future.

However, Watson is hoping that with the Big Bash League set to begin in December, followed by the PSL in February, he can put in impressive performances of his own to push his cause for selection to the national team.

"I am very excited to be involved in the inaugural PSL. There are a lot of world class players involved so I can’t wait to be a part of it," Watson said.

PSL Chairman Najam Sethi expressed his delight at securing the services of Watson and is confident that he will be one of the most sought after players in the T20 league.

"He will definitely be a hot pick in the PSL draft," said Sethi.

Interestingly, the scheduled dates of the PSL – February 4 to 24 – clashes with Australia’s tour of New Zealand where the two sides are set to do battle in three ODIs and two Test matches. Watson, if selected for the ODI team, will not miss much of the action in the PSL as the three ODIs will get over by February 8.

Wahab Riaz looking forward to resuming contest with Watson

The PSL could see the famous Watson-Riaz duel being repeated

One Pakistani cricketer who is keen to welcome Shane Watson to the PSL is Wahab Riaz. The left-arm seamer bowled one of the most memorable spells in recent ODI history when Pakistan faced eventual champions Australia in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final clash.

Watson was at the received end of the fiery spell from Wahab and the duel was one of the most talked about incidents during the showpiece tournament. Should the two players be picked by two different franchises in the PSL, fans could get to see a repeat of the contest, this time in the UAE.

Before the news of Watson signing up for the PSL was made official, a news channel editor, also named Najam Sethi engaged in a banter session with Riaz asking him to guess who the latest signing could be. Obviously having an idea as to who Sethi was referring to, Riaz replied: “Won’t be difficult to guess if he’s an Aussie player.”

*Announcing the latest #PSLt20 signing at 6 p.m. PST today. Any guesses @WahabViki? #AbGuessKarKeDikha #AbKhelKeDikha

— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) October 12, 2015

Won't b difficult to guess if he is an Aussie player @najamsethi ð???. #GuessKernaMushkilNai #Abkhelkedikha

— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) October 12, 2015