Yusuf Abdulla, South African left arm seamer joins KXIP Squad

08 April, 2009 | KXIP News Service

Kings XI Punjab, the young dynamic Indian Premier League team, today announced the addition of Yusuf Abdulla - a left arm fast medium bowler to their squad and David Nosworthy, head coach of South African first class team The Lions based at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg who joins the coaching team at KXIP.

Held and promoted by a consortium which includes, industrialists Mohit Burman, Karan Paul, Ness Wadia and leading Indian actor Preity Zinta also confirmed Port Elizabeth as its base camp for 8 days in South Africa. The camp will commence from April 06 with a squad of 27 players.

Yusuf Abdulla is currently one of South Africa's leading domestic-competition bowlers and has also played first class cricket. He recently represented South Africa in a T20 match against Australia. Dave Nosworthy, a high performance team manager will work with Tom Moody and will be part of the coaching camp in South Africa. His experience of coaching the local The Lions Cricket team will be invaluable in the teams’ preparation.

Kings XI Punjab has chosen Port Elizabeth also known as “The Friendly City”, as its camp city. Port Elizabeth provides the perfect setting for the team to have net practices at the main test ground. In addition, the team will be able to use the middle wickets of the University field, which will give them a flavour of how the upcoming season will unfold. Known as the 5 minute city, Port Elizabeth offers great accommodation, which incidentally is one of the best in South Africa.

Ness Wadia, Co – Promoter, Kings XI Punjab, said, “We are excited to have Yusuf as part of our squad, as he will bring with him the local knowledge and experience of playing in a T20 format in South Africa.” “We believe Port Elizabeth is the right choice for our team to set up the camp as the city has some brilliant facilities that cricketers look forward to. The city is home to a quality South Africa T20 team, which will give our players a chance to, not only, have practice matches, but also have net practice sessions against their bowlers,” added Ness Wadia.

Commenting on the upcoming camp at Port Elizabeth in South Africa, Tom Moody, Coach, Kings XI Punjab, said “I am excited about starting our preparation with the Kings XI Punjab Squad in Port Elizabeth, a city that is logistically a great venue for our training. We are positioned well weather wise, as there is plenty of sunshine in Port Elizabeth, that will help our players get familiarized with South Africa and its conditions for the upcoming season 2. The 8 day camp is where 27 players will practice and go through their paces and stake a claim for the final touring squad for 2009 IPL.”