Samuels has transformed himself into a highly volatile all-rounder since making his international comeback

West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels will be heading to Australia in December to play in the Big Bash League after agreeing to sign with the Melbourne Renegades.

Samuels is now the second international player the Renegades have snapped up, following their successful signing of Sri Lanka spin king Muttiah Muralitharan.

Having been in sublime form throughout the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20, where he led the West Indies to victory over Sri Lanka in the finals, scoring 78 runs from 56 balls and taking one wicket while giving away only 15 runs away in his four overs, Samuels will now be looking to continue his blistering streak against the other Big Bash League teams.

Renegades CEO Stuart Coventry stated that Samuels would fill the crucial number three batting spot that has been vacant for a while now.

“Marlon is a hard-hitting, genuine number three batsman who is an entertainer in every sense of the word, he seems to fly under the radar when it comes to receiving credit as an all-rounder, but his broad skill-set was one of the main reasons we brought him on board – he’s no one-trick pony. Only a few weeks back we saw the West Indies’ faith in his bowling pay off when they handed him the ball in the ‘super over’ against New Zealand and he picked up a wicket to help win the match,” Coventry said.

Renegades head coach Simon Helmot believes Samuels’ addition to the franchise will add more firepower to the top order of the batting lineup.

“Marlon produced some very impressive performances throughout his World Twenty20 campaign. He’ll provide much-needed firepower at the top of the order and brings a certain X-factor to the team,” Helmot said.