TTen eyes the ‘perfect 10’
dubai — Some 7,194 kilometres away from Lord’s, the home of cricket, a revolution is about to take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, a venue steeped in history.
Revolution, perhaps, may be too strong a word, or one with negative connotations, but if the next four days pans out the way it should, the cricketing landscape could change forever.
Shaji Ul Mulk’s idea and dream is close to being a reality with the T10 League, the sport’s most abridged version, set to put its wheels on and take cricket fans for an adrenaline-fuelled ride at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium over the four days.
Cricket has its purists who still love the ebbs and flows of a Test match over five days. And then there are those who grew up with 50 overs. The T20s changed the ball game altogether but now a new ‘kid,’ so to speak, is right around the block. T10 could perhaps be termed the evolution of cricket and another medium through which to attract new fans to the sport. Unlike other formats of cricket which have different time frames, T10 will be done and dusted in just 90 minutes, the same time frame of a football game.
And in this day and era of different leagues, it is tailor-made for franchise cricket. Add to that, the razzmatazz of cheer leaders, music and the works, it is that heady blend of cricket and entertainment — cricktainment.
Since the idea slowly took shape, a plethora of cricketers from around the globe sat up and took notice. And realising that they could be part of something that could change the face of cricket and maybe be part of history, they have given the thumbs up and signed up for it.
And there couldn’t have been a better example than England’s Eoin Morgan to illustrate this point. The fact that the England limitedovers captain has agreed to be a part of this venture, says a lot.
Morgan is not the only one. Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan’s captain across all the three formats, is also a part of it apart from stalwarts from yesteryears — India’s Virender Sehwag, Pakistan’s former captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi.
The play list also has some top names like West Indian Darren Sammy, a two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, David Miller, Kieron Pollard, Shakib Al Hasan, Wahab Riaz, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Mohammad Amir, Alex Hales, Dwayne Bravo, Rilee Roussouw, Kamran Akmal, Fakhar Zaman, Dwayne Smith, Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik, Chris Jordan, Umar Akmal, Carols Braithwaite and a Sri Lankan team led by Dinesh Chandimal. Six teams —Bengal Tigers, Kerala Kings, Maratha Arabians, Pakhtoons, Punjabi Legends and Team Sri Lanka are taking part in the competition.
The support staff across the six franchises, have some top names like Waqar Younis, who is the coach of the Bengal Tigers and physio John Gloster, formerly with the Indian team. Kerala Kings have former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh, who was also India’s fielding coach and India ‘A’ coach, apart from stints in the IPL with the Deccan Chargers and the Mumbai Indians. The Maratha Arabians have the ‘Sultan of Swing’ Wasim Akram as coach, while Moin Khan is the coach of the Pakhtoons. Mushtaq Ahmed is the coach of the Punjabi Legends.
The next four days will be a walk into the unknown but with the hope that the sport’s latest ‘baby’ will spawn a new future.
james@khaleejtimes.com