Evans could be the next T20 globetrotter

sharjah — An England call-up in T20s may be out of the realms of possibility but Laurie Evans isn’t sulking over it.

The 30-year-old is under no illusions that it is tough to crack into an England line-up that is filled with gold dust with stars like Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root.

But his talent isn’t going to waste. If the opening night of the Gulbahar Afghanistan Premier League (APL) was any evidence, Evans may follow in the footsteps of his famous countryman Kevin Pietersen and West Indian Chris ‘The Boss’ Gayle, and become an accomplished T20 globe-trotter.

Picked by Kabul Zwanan, the Sussex man underlined his credentials by blitzing an unbeaten 79 from just 39 deliveries to pull his side from a lost cause into a match-winning one.

Not that Evans needed to mark out any as he has plundered runs in the Natwest T20 Blast but this certainly was a great advert if any of the franchises in the different T20 League around the world were looking.

And Evans admitted it was one of his dreams to play franchise cricket.

“As a player, you always want to play the highest level you can. Sometimes, opportunities don’t go your way. I came to cricket quite late,” said Evans, formerly a scrumhalf with the Harlequins academy.

Evans was keen on a career in rugby and play alongside his school mate Fly-half Danny Cipriani for England. But recurring shoulder injuries curtailed his plans and he had to switch to cricket. And he transitioned from being a medium pacer to becoming a batsman.

“The England team is quite good. The selectors actually asked me ‘do you think you play in our team?’ and I said ‘who are you going to drop?’ You’ve got Roy, Hales, Buttler, Root, Morgan. There’s good batting in England. It was just one of my dreams to play franchise cricket and I’m just grateful that Afghanistan gave me an opportunity,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, Evans was delighted to play his part in a winning cause for Zwanan.