Ponting joins Caribbean Premier League
Ricky Ponting will follow his two-month stint with Surrey by participating in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League, having become the first overseas player to sign up for the Twenty20 tournament.
The former Australia captain, who retired from international cricket late last year, will represent one of the six franchises: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia or Trinidad & Tobago. He will find out which at the CPL draft in late May.
Since retiring from the international game, Ponting has played both for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League and Tasmania in first-class and List A competitions. He is due to represent Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League before spending June and July with Surrey, which will include the Friends Life t20 group stage.
Ricky Ponting began 2013 playing in the Big Bash League and is set to feature in at least three other Twenty20 tournaments this year
The 38-year-old, whose first senior tour with Australia was to the Caribbean in 1995, said: "The West Indies has always been one of my favourite cricket destinations. The mix of entertainment and cricket is the perfect recipe for West Indian cricket fans as well as the rest of the world."
Each of the six CPL franchises will comprise 15 players. Teams can field up to four overseas players and must have as many aged under 23. There is a minimum number of locals each side must include.
Six West Indies internationals - Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels - have so far signed up for the competition, which runs from July 29 to August 26.
