Marcus Stoinis has become the first centrally contracted Australian player to sign with the UAE's lucrative T20 League after joining the Sharjah Warriors.
Stoinis will play out the rest of the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Stars, before linking with Sharjah for the end of the International League T20 competition.
The league is primarily viewed as one of the biggest threats to the BBL, with several overseas stars leaving the Australian competition this week to head to the UAE.
Bankrolled by Indian Premier League franchise owners, clubs are able to sign up to nine overseas players on salaries worth up to $650,000 for the four-and-a-half-week season.
The league had previously tried to court David Warner's services, while Chris Lynn will feature in this season's edition after playing out the first 11 rounds of the BBL.
Stoinis's exit differs to Lynn's in that he holds a Cricket Australia contract, and the ILT20 clashes with a Western Australia Sheffield Shield match.
"It's a massive opportunity for me personally to notch up some crucial playtime at a tournament like this in the UAE ahead of a busy year that's going to be full of cricket," Stoinis said in a statement.
"These are extremely exciting times for international franchise cricket and I am glad to be playing a part of a team like Sharjah Warriors in the league's history-making inaugural edition."
