Fakhar, who has proved his mettle across the world for his belligerent strokeplay, spearheaded the new players’ signings list for the ILT20 Season 3.
The Southpaw will join his fellow countrymen wicket-keeper Azam Khan and left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir, who were retained by Desert Vipers.
However, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was an integral part of Desert Vipers in the last season, was not named in the retention list of the franchise due to his international commitments.
The third season of the ILT20 will be played from January 11 to February 9 next year in three cities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.
New Signings and Retentions
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
New signings: Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Gudakesh Motie, Hassan Khan, Roston Chase and Terrance Hinds
Retentions: Aditya Shetty, Ali Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Andries Ghous, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Laurie Evans, Michael Pepper and Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers
New signings: Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Fakhar Zaman, Lockie Ferguson and Max Holden
Retentions: Adam Hose, Alex Hales, Ali Naseer, Azam Khan, Bas de Leede, Luke Wood, Michael Jones, Mohammad Amir, Nathan Sowter, Sherfane Rutherford, Tanish Suri and Wanindu Hasaranga
Dubai Capitals
New signings: Adam Rossington, Brandon McMullen, Garuka Sanketh, Gulbadin Naib, Jeffrey Vandersay, Joe Burns, Joe Weatherley, Najibullah Zadran, Obed McCoy, Scott Kuggeleijn, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Shai Hope
Retentions: Dasun Shanaka, David Warner, Dushmantha Chameera, Haider Ali, Raja Akif, Rovman Powell, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, Zahir Khan, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Oliver Stone
Gulf Giants
New signings: Adam Lyth, Dominic Drakes, Daniel Worrall, Ibrahim Zadran, Mark Adair, Tom Curran, Tymal Mills and Wahidullah Zadran
Retentions: Aayan Afzal Khan, Blessing Muzarabani, Chris Jordan, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gerhard Erasmus, Jamie Overton, James Vince, Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Mohammad Zuhaib Zubair, Rehan Ahmed, and Shimron Hetmyer
MI Emirates
New signings: Romario Shepherd, Tom Banton, Fareed Ahmad, Thomas Jack Draca, Ben Charlesworth
Retentions: Akeal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran, Nosthush Kenjige, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Waqar Salamkheil
Sharjah Warriors
New signings: Adam Milne, Adil Rashid, Ashton Agar, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Daniel Sams, Gus Atkinson, Harmeet Singh, Jason Roy, Karim Janat, Keemo Paul, Matthew Wade, Virandeep Singh and Tim Seifert
Retentions: Dilshan Madushanka, Johnson Charles, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah, Kusal Mendis, Luke Wells, Peter Hatzoglou and Tom Kohler-Cadmore