Renegades sign Gleeson last-minute after Shinwari, Faheem pull out

Melbourne Renegades have signed uncapped English quick Richard Gleeson seven days out from their season opener against Sydney Thunder. The late signing comes after Pakistan's Usman Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf became unavailable.

While Shinwari was picked for the Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it is understood that Ashraf has been held back to participate in domestic cricket. Both the players had signed with the Renegades for the first half of the tournament.

Harry Gurney, who was going to replace Shinwari in the latter stages of the season, is now expected to be available for all the matches.

"It's obviously unfortunate to lose Shinwari and Ashraf on the eve of the season but sometimes that's the nature of T20 cricket in a busy international schedule," new Renegades coach Michael Klinger said in a statement. "We know things can change quickly with international players and we need to be ready to respond."

Gleeson, 32, featured in the T10 League in the UAE recently and has a career economy rate of 7.47 with Northamptonshire and Lancashire in England's domestic T20 competition.

"Richard bowls with genuine pace and is capable of hitting the areas that make it difficult for batsmen to score on a regular basis," said Klinger. "His skills in the power play and at the death have resulted in him being one of the best T20 bowlers in the UK T20 Blast in recent years."