Qalandars recruit Shahid Afridi for latest edition of T-10
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The new franchise has managed to secure the services of explosive all-rounder Shahid Afridi in a bid to have a strong debut season in the one of its kind league. The former Pakistan captain stated that he is enthralled to be a part of the tournament and is looking forward to entertaining the fans.
The T10 league will be receiving some fresh competition as two new teams will be joining the race to become the champions of the ICC-sanctioned tournament, with Qalandars and Bangla Tigers confirming to participate in the same. The former had a revealing ceremony on Sunday, in which they presented Shahid Afridi as their icon player.
"I was very excited to be a part of it (T10) from the time I heard it was going to be played in Abu Dhabi. The first two editions of T10 were in Sharjah and now it is in Abu Dhabi. We will be here to provide fans all the entertainment in this short format of the game,” the 44-year-old was reported saying by ESPNCricinfo.
Qalandars is the sister franchise of Pakistan Super League’s team with the same name, Lahore Qalandars. Fawad Rana is the chairman of both these clubs. Bangla Tigers, on the other hand, were unveiled last week on Thursday and are owned by Yasin Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi businessman along withSirajuddin Alam, a former BCB director.
The league, mainly played for entertainment purposes, is supervised by the Emirates Cricket Board and was given official status last year. Each innings extends for only 10 overs which facilitates the short periods of games and therefore enjoy a large audience. It usually witnesses powerful hitting by batsmen from around the globe and Shahid Afridi, one of the most renowned hitters with 70+ sixes to his name in T20I, will be looking forward to join the action himself.
"T10 is a different concept where batsmen will have to have a go from the start. It's good to have some variety for the fans," he added.
