The crazy, goosebump-worthy ebbs and flows of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy not only kept us on the edge of our seats but also infused life into the corpse of Test cricket. Most mere mortals had their quotas of adventure fulfilled to the hilt, but needn't worry just in case you have a threshold for more. For, the dose of Abu Dhabi T10 League is bound to leave you tipsy.
For the uninitiated, the fast and furious ten-over format is a brainchild of T Ten Sports Management. Ninety minutes of your hectic life is all it asks to bring to you stark raving mad pinch-hitters who wield their willows like a machete and cunning bowlers who have no more than two overs each to explore every trick up their sleeve. Field restrictions are implemented to stabilize the contest between bat and ball, with the mandatory PowerPlay in force for the first three overs. Tied clashes are not a rare sight given the heebie-jeebies that prevail, and thus, Super Over breaks the deadlock at the knockout stage.
The Abu Dhabi T10 League is the only 10-over tournament that has been officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. It proves the sport's governing body, which will bid for cricket’s inclusion at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, is willing to open its arms to a new format. Being a capsule-sized entertainer, T10's logistical demands are rather straightforward and plump its case as cricket's gateway to the Olympics.
The 2020 ADT10 draft, which took place in December, featured over 600 cricketers, including global superstars, local heroes, and budding talents. Out of them, 130 went under the hammer after 15 rounds of vociferous bidding. The Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi plays host to 29 matches set to be held in a short span of ten days commencing from 28th January, when Northern Warriors begin their title defence against Maratha Arabians in the curtain-raiser. That all of the eight franchises boast of at least one T20 World-Cup champion in their engine room is a testament to the quality on offer. Buckle up your seat belts for a roller-coaster ride that would be done and dusted in the blink of an eye!
Squads:
Bangla Tigers
Noor Ahmad, Qais Ahmad, Johnson Charles, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Andre Fletcher, Mahedi Hasan, Adam Hose, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Irfan, Karim Janat, Aryan Lakra, Tom Moores, Chirag Suri, Isuru Udana, Mujeeb ur Rahman, David Wiese
Deccan Gladiators
Imtiaz Ahmed, Prashant Gupta, Wanindu Hasaranga, Colin Ingram, Azam Khan, Zahoor Khan, Lahiru Kumara, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ravi Rampaul, Mohammad Shahzad, Hamdan Tahir, Imran Tahir, Hafeez ur Rehman, Zeeshan Zameer
Delhi Bulls
Sheraz Ahmad, Ravi Bopara, Dwayne Bravo, Amad Butt, Dushmantha Chameera, Kashif Daud, Fidel Edwards, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ali Khan, Evin Lewis, Adam Lyth, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Nabi, Sherfane Rutherford, Waqar Salamkheil, Dasun Shanaka, Nyeem Young
Maratha Arabians
Taskin Ahmed, Muktar Ali, Laurie Evans, Amjad Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Mosaddek Hossain, Sompal Kami, Shoaib Malik, Ishan Malhorta, Maroof Merchant, Syed Shah, Abdul Shakoor, Pravin Tambe
Northern Warriors
Waheed Ahmad, Fabian Allen, Rayad Emrit, Brandon King, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Sujeet Parbatani, Wayne Parnell, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Siddique, Lendl Simmons, Ansh Tandon, Maheesh Theekshana, Muhammad Waseem, Amir Yamin
Pune Devils
Waheed Ahmad, Mohammad Amir, Munis Ansari, Vriitya Aravind, Sam Billings, Mohammad Boota, Nasir Hossain, Chamara Kapugedera, Karan KC, Asif Khan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dinesh Kumar, Kennar Lewis, Ajantha Mendis, Thisara Perera, Malinda Pushkapumara, Darwish Rasooli, Devon Thomas, Hardus Viljoen, Chadwick Walton, Sam Wisniewski
Qalandars
Shahid Afridi, Fayyaz Ahmed, Sultan Ahmad, Sohail Akhtar, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Khurshid Anwar, Tom Banton, Ben Dunk, Chris Jordan, Maaz Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Samit Patel, Phil Salt, Sohail Tanvir
Team Abu Dhabi
Ben Cox, Avishka Fernando, Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, Leonardo Julien, Kushal Malla, Chris Morris, Obed McCoy, Karthik Meiyappan, Rohan Mustafa, Usman Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hayden Walsh Jnr, Luke Wright, Najibullah Zadran, Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett
Marquee Players:
The T10 circus rolls into the town with a generous sprinkle of stardust. Shahid Afridi (Qalandars), Chris Gayle (Team Abu Dhabi), Sunil Narine (Deccan Gladiators), Thisara Perera (Pune Devils), Dwayne Bravo (Delhi Bulls), Isuru Udana (Bangla Tigers), Shoaib Malik (Maratha Arabians), and Andre Russell (Northern Warriors) are the guns locked and loaded to blaze fire.
Fixture Schedule:
Group A: Bangla Tigers, Delhi Bulls, Maratha Arabians, Northern Warriors
Group B: Deccan Gladiators, Pune Devils, Qalandars, Team Abu Dhabi
All matches are due to be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi
January 28: Maratha Arabians v Northern Warriors, Deccan Gladiators v Pune Devils, Delhi Bulls v Bangla Tigers
January 29: Pune Devils v Qalandars, Maratha Arabians v Delhi Bulls, Deccan Gladiators v Team Abu Dhabi
January 30: Bangla Tigers v Maratha Arabians, Team Abu Dhabi v Qalandars, Delhi Bulls v Northern Warriors
January 31: Team Abu Dhabi v Pune Devils, Bangla Tigers v Northern Warriors, Deccan Gladiators v Qalandars
February 1: A3 v B4, A1 v B2, A2 v B3
February 2: A4 v B1, A2 v B4, A1 v B3
February 3: A3 v B1, A4 v B2, A1 v B4
February 4: A4 v B3, A2 v B1, A3 v B2
February 5: Qualifier (1st v 2nd), Eliminator 1 (3rd v 4th), Eliminator 2 (Loser Qualifier v Winner Eliminator 1)
February 6: 3rd place play-off, Final
Where to Watch
The matches will be telecasted on Sony and the live streaming can be accessed through Fancode.
Powered by Froala Editor