Sports Desk
DUBAI: T10 League – the world’s first 10-over international professional cricket league recognised by International Cricket Council (ICC), that starts Season 2 from November 23 to December 2, 2018 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, announced the appointment of Mohammad Azharuddin, Wasim Akram and Vijay Dutt Vyas to lead the global talent hunt to spearhead the 10-over format cricket movement.
Mr Vijay Dutt Vyas, owner of the Rajputs team has been appointed the Global Director for T10 League Talent Hunt. The T10 League also appointed former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram Director T10 League Talent Hunt for Pakistan and former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin Director T10 League Talent Hunt for India, as the 2.0 season of the T10 League campaign gains momentum with eight teams vying for championship at a ten-day tournament in November-December this year.
The announcement was made at a press conference held in Dubai. Welcoming the two cricketing legends, Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of the T10 League, said, “The appointment of Mohammad Azharuddin and Wasim Akram are the beginning of a new journey for the global T10 cricket movement and we are very excited to make the announcement today.
“The global talent hunt is designed to unearth the unsung heros from the cricketing world, especially India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who do not get the opportunity to play cricket and the exposure that they deserve.
“This programme will help the talent not only to get a job in the UAE and be able to display their cricketing skills at international level. The Emirates Cricket Board is part of this programme and the good top-class cricketers will have a chance to play for the UAE national team.
“Following today’s announcement, we will soon appoint T10 Talent Hunt Directors for Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to strengthen the global talent hunt.”
The crowded press conference was addressed by T10 League officials as well as the 8 Team Owners playing in the Second Season of the T10 League, including Mr Parvez Khan, Board Member of the T10 League and Owner of Maratha Arabians, Mr Ali Tumbi, Co-owner of Maratha Arabians, Mr Nilesh Bhatnagar, Co-Owner of Bengal Tigers, Mr Jawad Ghulam Rasool, CEO of Pakhtoons, Mr Mohsin Imran, Owner of the Karachians; Mr Shahbaz Ilyasi, Owner of Northern Warriors, Mr Hyder Khan, Owner of Punjabi Legends, Mr Nader Hussain Adam Ali, Owner of Kerala Kings, along with Mohammad Azharuddin and Wasim Akram.
The event takes place at the backdrop of the recent recognition by the International Cricket Council (ICC) the global governing body of cricket – that makes it the world’s first official ten-over format league.
This year, two teams – The Karachians and Northern Warriors – as well as Rajputs have been added to the list of the earlier six teams. This will expand the support and fan base of the T10 League.
The preparation for the second season has started recently with the Team Draw led by Kerala Kings and Punjabi Legends – the Champions and Runners-up teams of the first T10 League.
Eight teams – Kerala Kings, Punjab Legends, Maratha Arabians, Bengal Tigers, The Karachians, Rajputs, Northern Warriors and Pakhtoons – have been drawn in to two groups to fight it out in the 2nd Season of T10 League from November 23 to December 2 – the UAE National Day.
T10 League was launched last year by T10 Sports Management to popularise the game of cricket in its shortest format – that concludes within less than 90 minutes in which two teams bat it out in ten overs – or just 60 balls – thrilling the crowd.
Preparation for the Second Season of the T10 League started following the runaway success with sold-out stadium during all the four days of the first Season that drew full-gallery crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and watched by cheering fans across the GCC, South Asia and parts of the African continent where cricket is a popular sport.
A number of Bollywood and Lollywood celebrities from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will add festive flavour to the ten-day tournament to be watched live in more than 20 countries across the world.
“The Second Season of the T10 League is boosted by the formal recognition of the International Cricket Council and the interest shown by the stakeholders that encourages us to take the tournament to whole new level this year and cricketing fans can expect some fireworks during the 10-day extravaganza,” Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of T10 League, said.
“We have now set up a central secretariat and revamped organisational structure to organise the T10 League that will match the fanfare seen only at global sporting events. All I can say that a lot of surprises are waiting for the cricket-lovers worldwide.
“This year’s T10 League will help expand and popularise the game of cricket further. We see this as a growing movement and I urge all to join this and help take the game further.”
Recently, T10 League organised the Team Grouping – an important part of the tournament – that has placed last year’s champions Kerala Kings against Karachians, Pakhtoons and Rajputs in Group A while Maratha Arabians, Bengal Tigers and Northern Warriors will face last year’s Runners-Up Punjabi Legends in Group B.
Rizwan Sajan, Board Member of T10 League, said, “The Second Season of the T10 League will be bigger and better in every aspect and it will re-inforce the UAE’s position as a major sporting hub in the Middle East.
“T10 League will attract thousands of cricketing fans from all over the world to Dubai and their travel, hotel stay, local transport and movement will help the tourism sector. We expect record number of cricket fans to travel to the UAE from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to attend the ten-day extravaganza.”
The Player’s Draft that takes place in the coming weeks will see the world’s top cricketers being selected by the eight teams – from a pool of cricketing legends.
Parvez Khan, Board Member of the T10 League, said, “Preparations for the 2nd Season of the T10 League is going on in full swing and the team owners of the eight teams are gearing up for an exciting season ahead.
“Cricket is being re-invented in the UAE and the T10 League is at the forefront of this journey. We are getting a large crowd joining us in this great journey where we hope to break new grounds with many more surprises to come.”
The T10 League is live telecast in the GCC, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom and the United States – followed by millions of fans – watching the actions of some of the most popular cricket stars, such as Shane Watson, Shahid Afridi, Eoin Morgan, Rasheed Khan, Shoeb Malik, Sunil Narine, Darren Samy, among many others.
Team Grouping
| Group A | Group B |
| Kerala Kings | Punjabi Legends |
| Karachians | Bengal Tigers |
| Pakhtoon | Maratha Arabians |
| Rajputs | Northern Warriors |
