'Excited to have Shaheen in Brisbane'

Pak cricketers bring a lot of interest to BBL, says Johan Botha

BRISBANE:

The likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf will be seen playing against each other during the Australian summer and thus, it is safe to say that a lot of people from Pakistan would be excited for the BBL 2025/26.

As Brisbane Heat managed to pick Afridi, their head coach, Johan Botha, seemed very pleased to have the star pacer in his side.

The former South African captain himself has been a part of various T20 leagues including the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and has an impressive CV as a T20 player. As a matter of fact, he has coached several franchises across the globe too.

During an exclusive interview with Arvind Kalyana Krishnan during the BBL 15 Draft in Melbourne, Johan Botha expressed his excitement about getting Shaheen, and spoke about the fans and support he'll be getting along with him. The former Proteas all-rounder drew light on the prospect of all the Pakistani players playing against one another, and the amount of fan following they have. Botha stated that it was a big tick for the BBL in terms of popularising the tournament.

"We've very excited (to get Shaheen Afridi). You know, I think the whole BBL now! With Babar going to Sydney, Shadab is back, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan.....I think that's a big tick for the Big Bash.

"I think it'll bring a lot of interest, and especially when you have those guys play against each other, I think that will you know get crowds in through the gates and that's ultimately what it is.

"It's entertainment and we're look into those match-ups. You know I've been at PSL quite a lot and it's exciting to see the best players going against each other," said Johan Botha.

Shaheen Afridi has grabbed the cricketing headlines in Australia as Brisbane Heat managed to acquire his services during the recently-concluded KFC Big Bash League 15 Draft.

Brisbane Heat were quick to get the pacer as he was their first pick on June 19. Post which, several other star cricketers from Pakistan were picked by various teams during the BBL 15 overseas player draft.

Further on, the 43-year-old also spoke about South Africa winning the World Test Championship 2025. As a former South African cricketer and skipper himself, Botha felt that the "Rainbow Nation" winning their second ICC tournament was massive for the cricketing world.

He also spoke about how some of the Proteas players still rate Test cricket very highly and want to continue playing the longest format of the game.

The Temba Bavuma-led side had beaten Australia at Lord's during the WTC 2025 Final with Aiden Markram hitting a scintillating century in the fourth innings to deny the Pat Cunmins-led side their second WTC title.

"South Africa winning is massive. You know, following that over the last few days obviously. A huge win for South Africa. Their rugby has done so well for a long time and it's nice to finally see the cricket guys get over the line and it's huge for cricket.

"Even those guys in the team speaking about important Test cricket still is. You know when I was there and playing, you always felt that guys want to play One-day cricket to playing franchise cricket, but it's great to hear that top players still speak so highly of Test cricket and yeah, it's exciting and hopefully that you know those young guys can come through and play Test cricket for South Africa," he said.