Kolkata: The novel format of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, which conducted it’s draw for the upcoming edition at a Dubai hotel on Wednesday, received a thumbs-up from Andy Flower - the former England head coach who will be at the helm of Delhi Bulls.
The iconic Zimbabwean batting star, who was the brain behind the Maratha Arabians’ triumph last season, has switched over to the Bulls for the fourth edition - to be held from January 28 to February 6 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi next year.
‘‘It’s simply great to watch. The shorter the format, the greater are the demands on skills of the players,’’ said Flower, whose team has West Indian allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their icon player. ‘‘We are looking at him to bring on his expertise of playing over 500 T20 games,’’ he said in response to a query from the Master of Ceremony.
Meanwhile, Pravin Tambe, the 49-year-old leg spinner who made his mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will be the only recognisable name among three Indian players who will be featuring in the tournament alongwith right-arm medium fast bowler Ishan Malhotra and leg-spinner Prashant Gupta.
In August, Tambe had become the first Indian to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where he played with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). The 49-year-old had made his IPL debut at the age of 41 in 2013. He has so far played 33 matches in all IPL editions picking up 28 wickets.
Malhotra, picked by Arabians, played one match for the Deccan Chargers against Delhi Daredevils during IPL 2011. Gupta, picked by Deccan Gladiators, played domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh and Railways from 2008 to 2019.
In the third edition played last year, former India allrounder Yuvraj Singh played for the Arabians while former Indian pace warhead Zaheer Khan featured for the Delhi Bulls. The likes of S.Badrinath and Munaf Patel have also played in the T10 league in the previous seasons.
“The high number of players in the draft shows the popularity of the T10 league. All franchises are well balanced and they have put in a lot of thought while picking the players. It will be absolutely fantastic to see the top international cricket stars coming together at Abu Dhabi T10 for yet another extravaganza of cricket. I wish all the teams and players the very best of luck for the competition,” said Shaji Ul Mulk, founder & chairman of Abu Dhabi T10.
Team Line-Up
Group A
Team: Maratha Arabians
Icon player: Shoaib Malik
Team: Mohammad Hafeez, Laurie Evans, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pravin Tambe, Ishan Malhotra, Muktar Ali, Amjad Khan, Abdul Shakoor, Maroof Merchant, Sompal Kami, Syed Shah
Team: Bangla Tigers
Icon player: Isuru Udana
Team: Andre Fletcher, Tom Moores, Qais Ahmad, Chirag Suri, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Mohammad Irfan, Afif Hossain, Adam Hose, Karim Janat, Aryan Lakra, Fazal Haque, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan
Team: Delhi Bulls
Icon player: Dwayne Bravo
Team: Ali Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera, Sherfane Rutherford, Evin Lewis, Dasun Shanaka, Adam Lyth, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fidel Edwards, Shiraz Ahmed, Kashif Daud, Waqar Salamkheil, Nyeem Young, Amad Butt
Team: Northern Warriors
Icon player: Andre Russell
Team: Rayad Emrit, Nicholas Pooran, Lendl Simmons, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Siddique, Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Nuwan Pradeep, Aamer Yamin, Brandon King, Waheed Ahmed, Maheesh Theekshana, Ansh Tandon
Group B
Team: Deccan Gladiators
Icon player : Sunil Narine
Team : Kieron Pollard, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Zahoor Khan, Colin Ingram, Mohammad Shahzad, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Azam Khan, Ravi Rampaul, Prashant Gupta, Zeeshan Zameer, Hamdan Tahir, Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Imran Tahir, Imtiyaz Ahmed
Team: Qalandars
Icon player: Shahid Afridi
Team: Samit Patel, Phil Salt, Chris Jordan, Sultan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Sohail Tanvir, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Sohail Akhtar, Sharjeel Khan, Fayyaz Ahmed, Azmatullah Omarzai, Maaz Khan, Khurshid Anwar, Ben Dunk
Team: Team Abu Dhabi
Icon player: Chris Gayle
Team: Rohan Mustafa, Luke Wright, Avishka Fernando, Hayden Walsh Jr, Chris Morris, Usman Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Obed McCoy, Najibullah Zadran, Ben Cox, Palaniapan Meiyappan, Leonardo Julien, Kushal Malla, Alex Hales
Team: Pune Devils
Icon player: Thisara Pereira
Team: Mohammad Amir, Hardus Viljoen, Chamara Kapugedera, Sam Billings, Ajantha Mendis, Devon Thomas, Darwish Rasooli, Nasir Hossain, Kennar Lewis, Asif Khan, Mohammad Boota, Dinesh Kumar, Vriitya Aravind, Karan KC, Munis Ansari
