Birmingham Bears batsman Ian Bell has been drafted to reigning Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Islamabad United for the 2019 tournament, which takes place in February and March.
Bell, who had already been drafted to Bangladesh Premier League runners-up Dhaka Dynamites, is joined in Islamabad by Notts Outlaws Samit Patel and Sussex Sharks Phil Salt and former Bear and New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Luke Ronchi. He will also join Pakistan internationals Shadab Khan, Faheem Asraf, Asif Ali and Mohammad Sami.
We’ll be going head-to-head with some of the biggest names in the T20 game.
Ian Bell
“I’m thrilled to join up with United, as reigning PSL champions,” said Bell. “The PSL is developing a reputation as one of the strongest T20 competitions in the world and we’ll be going head-to-head with some of the biggest names in the T20 game.
“Having played with England in the UAE and Pakistan and experienced T20 tournament wins with Birmingham Bears and Perth Scorchers, I hope I can use my experience to make a major contribution for United and to mount a challenge for back-to-back titles.”
Bell (36) broke Jonathan Trott’s record to become leading run scorer for the club in T20 cricket last season and was part of the team that were crowned Blast champions at Finals Day in 2014. He also secured a Big Bash title in Australia with Perth Scorchers in 2017.
In total, Bell has scored 2,111 runs at an average of 31.5 for the Bears since making his T20 debut against Somerset in 2003, with his maiden century coming against Northants Steelbacks at Edgbaston in the famous tied game earlier this year.
The PSL starts on 14 February in the United Arab Emirates, with the final taking place in Karachi on 17 March.
