T10 Cricket League 2017-18 [Preview]

The T10 Cricket League is the newest addition to the cricketing calendar as the competition is set to begin from Thursday at Sharjah Cricket Ground in Sharjah. The league will see each team play 10 overs apiece to produce a result. The shortest format of the game has been created to bring in more crowds and cater to a whole new level of audiences living in the UAE.

The T-20 format is already the leading and popular format in cricket due to its widespread appeal among cricket spectators but inaugural T-10 will certainly provide whole new level of entertainment for cricketing fans in UAE.

The T10 Cricket League will see six teams battle it out for the coveted trophy. Maratha Arabians, Bengal Tigers, Kerala Kings, Punjabi Legends, Colombo Lions and Pakhtoons are six franchises that will participate in the competition. The six franchises will be led by big players such Virender Sehwag who is all set to lead Maratha Arabians while Shahid Afridi will lead Pakhtoons in the competition.

Maratha Arabians have plenty of big players as Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Sami are pace options for the side. Alex Hales, Lendl Simmons and Rilee Rossouw are premier players in the batting lineup while Dwayne Bravo and Ross Whiteley are T20 specialist included in the squad.

Maratha Arabians: Virender Sehwag (captain), Lendl Simmons, Alex Hales, Ross Whiteley, Dwayne Bravo, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Zahoor Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Sami, Shaiman Anwar, Krishnmar Santokie, Hardus Viljeon, and Kamran Akmal.

Kerala Kings: Eoin Morgan (captain), Sohail Tanvir, Paul Stirling, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Kieron Pollard, Ryad Emrit, Nicholas Pooran, Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider, Samuel Badree, Babar Hayat, Wahab Riaz, and Liam Plunkett.

Pakhtoons: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmad Shahzad, Shaheen Afridi, Liam Dawson, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Saqlain Haider, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Dwayne Smith, Fakhar Zaman and Amjad Javed.

Punjabi Legends:  Shoaib Malik (captain), Adil Rashid, Carlos Braithwaite, Luke Ronchi, Faheem Ashraf, Umar Akmal, Hasan Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Chris Jordan, Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah, Usama Mir.

Colombo Lions: Dilshan Munaweera, Ramith Rambukwella, Thikshila De Silva, Lahiru Madushanka,  Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Shehan Madushanka, Kasun Madushanka, Angelo Perera, Alankara Asanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shehan Jayasuriya, Wanidu Hasaranga, Vishwa Fernando, Sachithra Senanayake.

Bengal Tigers: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Naveed, Rumman Raees, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Anwar Ali, Hasan Khan, Mustafizur Rahman, Sunil Narine, Rameez Shahzad, Nabeel Baig.

Format of the league

The schedule is plain and simple as the other leagues like Indian Premier League and Big Bash League played in Australia. The six teams will be divided into two groups and then each side will pay each twice. The preliminary stage will be followed playoffs in which the top four teams from both the groups will face other in semifinals in bid to play the grand finale.

T-10 Cricket League 2017-18

December 14: Bengal Tigers vs Kerala Kings

December 14: Maratha Arabians vs Pakhtoons

December 15: Bengal Tigers vs Punjabi Legends

December 15: Maratha Arabians vs Colombo Lions

December 15: Punjab Legends vs Kerala Kings

December 15: Pakhtoons vs Colombo Lions

December 16: Team 1 in Group A vs Team 3 in Group B

December 16: Team 3 in Group A vs Team 1 in Group B

December 16 Team 2 v Group A vs Team 2 in Group B

December 16: Playoff for 5^th/6^th Place

December 17: 1^st SF- Team 1 vs Team 4

December 17:2^nd SF: Team 2 vs Team 3

December 17: Final

Venue for all games :Sharjah International Stadium