Mahela Jayawardene to make a comeback for Central Stags in the Super Smash

Former Sri Lanka captain and legendary batsman Mahela Jayawardene, who as recently names the head of IPL side Mumbai Indians, will return to play for the Central Stags in New Zealand’s T20 competition – McDonald’s Super Smash. Jayawardene had a good impact with the Stags last year, when he scored 249 runs at 62.25 in the four innings he played with the team.

Pete de Wet, Central Stags’ chief, was expectedly delighted with the development. He added that Jayawardene would play at least eight games for the Stags, and will continue playing for them if they get through the league stages and into the qualifiers.

“He’s a quality player,” said de Wet. “Aside from what he brings on the field, he had a massive impact on the boys in the changing room. He’s a great acquisition and we’re very happy to have him back.”

Jayawardene is currently playing for Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2016. He is expected to fly to New Zealand to play in the Super Smash after the BPL. His first game with the Stags this year depends on how well Dhaka Dynamites do in the BPL. His team is currently placed second in the league table, with eight points from seven games.

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Jayawardene is surely the biggest foreign import to play in the Super Smash this year, Tymal Mills (Auckland) and Jade Dernback (Wellington) are the other imports in the league. The 39-year-old who retired from international cricket in 2015 is till very much active as a player in the T20 circuit.

Apart from the BPL and the Super Smash, he is slated to represent the Karachi Kings in the second edition of the Pakistan Super League and has also signed up to play in Shane Warne’s Cricket Superstars tournament later in 2017.