Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals today announced that it has signed English cricketer Owais Shah to play for the team in the fifth season of the DLF Indian Premier League scheduled to begin in Chennai on April 4th 2012.

The 33-year-old Karachi born right hand batsman has enjoyed tremendous success in the shorter version of the game in the last couple of years and will add to the Royals’ strong batting line-up.

Says Raghu Iyer, CEO, Rajasthan Royals: “Owais Shah is a fantastic batsman which has been evident in the way he has been performing in the T20 format. He has proved to be a match winner for all the teams he has represented recently and we are extremely pleased to have signed him. His presence will ensure we have a lot of strength and depth in our batting.”

Shah has played seventeen T20 international matches for England and was amongst the highest scorers in the recently concluded Big Bash League in Australia. He is currently playing for the Cape Cobras in the South African T20 League and has carried his rich vein of form into the tournament. He was part of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, in the previous season of the IPL.
“I am delighted to have signed with the Rajasthan Royals. I am looking forward to donning their royal blue and playing with the squad this April”, said Owais Shah on signing for the Royals.

Royals recently signed cricketers S Sreesanth, Brad Hogg, Bradley Hodge, Dinesh Chandimal and Kevin Cooper, and announced their formidable new squad for the IPL 2012 a few days back.