Gleeson secures BPL deal

The uncapped Englishman is among 31 foreign players signed by BPL sides ahead of Friday's player draft.

Other county cricketers to win deals include Ashar Zaidi, Ravi Bopara and Riki Wessels.

The high-profile players who have already signed contracts include Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Dwayne Bravo.Gleeson, 28, will link up with Afridi at the Riders, alongside Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Shahzad, Dasun Shanaka and Gidron Pope, with several more big-name signings to come in the draft.

For Gleeson in particular, this deal marks a new chapter in his career.

Despite already being 28 years old, the right-arm seamer has only been in professional cricket for two years, and was appearing for Northamptonshire on a match-by-match basis until July.

However, he now has a professional contract with the club, and is no longer juggling his second job as a coach for the Lancashire Cricket Board in clubs and schools.

Whilst he did not perform quite as he would have liked in Division Two of the County Championship this summer, Gleeson was on inspirational form with the white ball.

His 14 wickets at 16 apiece in the T20 Blast came whilst he conceded only 5.97 runs per over, despite often bowling at the start and end of an innings.

In the One-Day Cup, the seamer averaged 22.46 with the ball, taking thirteen wickets.