T10 Cricket League to kick off on 14th December
Almost 10 years after the launch of IPL in 2008, we are about to witness another innovation in the shortest format of cricket- a new ten-over-a-side, T10 Cricket League. The inaugural edition of the tournament is scheduled across four days from 14th-17th Dec 2017 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE. Here is more about the participating teams, and their big name signings.
Brains behind the format
The T10 Cricket League is the brainchild of Indian businessman Shaji Ul Mulk who believes that the T10 league can open doors for cricket in Olympics. The first season features six franchises which contest in a ten-side-a-over match that lasts for 90 minutes. The participating teams include- Maratha Arabians, Kerala Kings, Pakhtoons, Punjabi Legends, Colombo Lions, and Bengal Tigers.
Big name players associated with the teams
India's veteran superstar Virender Sehwag has been signed by Maratha Arabians. Dwayne Bravo is another big signing by them. Kerala Kings signed England's Eoin Morgan as their icon player. Pakhtoons have the recently retired Shahid Afridi as their star player while Punjabi Legends squad includes Shoaib Malik. Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal stars for Colombo Lions and Sarfaraz Ahmed for Bengal Tigers.
Pak, Sri Lankan, West Indies players crowd the squads
While there is no other Indian player apart from Sehwag playing in the league, we will get to see plenty of high profile players like Dwayne Bravo, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Mohammad Amir, David Miller in action. The teams are mostly packed with players from Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and to an extent from Bangladesh.