Harare, Sep 9 (IANS): The six franchises have picked very strong but balanced squads for season 2 of Zim Afro T10 at the Player Draft. The second season of the Zim Afro T10 is scheduled to commence on September 21 and will conclude with the grand finale on September 29 in Harare.
Among the big names waiting to entertain the crowds at the Harare Sports Club are the likes of David Warner, Sikander Raza, Colin Munro, Dawid Malan, Carlos Brathwaite and Chris Lynn. Nonetheless, the spotlight will also be on the Zimbabwean players, who have been playing some fantastic cricket in recent months.
More than 400 players had registered for the player draft of the Zim Afro T10, which had a total of 12 rounds of player drafting. On the day, across the six franchises, there were 64 players drafted in, with the Bulawayo Braves Jaguars drafting in a total of 12 players to make up their squad of 16.
The Cape Town Samp Army had picked Haider Ali (Pakistan: Global Superstar), David Willey (England: Icon), Dawid Malan (England), Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan), Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan), Adam Rossington (England), Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan), as their pre-draft signings. At the player draft, they picked Rohan Mustafa (Pakistan), Salman Irshad (Pakistan), Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe), Tadiwanashe Marumani (Zimbabwe), Ben Curran (Zimbabwe), Michael Frost (Zimbabwe), Brian Chari (Zimbabwe), Tawanda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Leonardo Julien (West Indies) and Sineth Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) to complete their squad.
The Durban Wolves had named Colin Munro (New Zealand: Global Superstar), Mark Chapman (New Zealand: Icon), Will Smeed (England), Sharjeel Khan (Pakistan), Muhammad Irfan (Pakistan), Yasir Shah (Pakistan) as their direct signings, and further bolstered their squad by adding Mohammad Rohid Khan (UAE), Muhammad Waseem (Pakistan), Regis Chakabava (Zimbabwe), Gary Balance (Zimbabwe), Tinotenda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Donald Tiripano (Zimbabwe), Innocent Kaia (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Bawa (Zimbabwe), Mbeki Joseph (West Indies) and Raveen De Silve (Sri Lanka).
The Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers had picked Chris Lynn (Australia: Global Superstar), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Luke Wood (England), Karim Janat (Afghanistan) ahead of the draft. The Tigers added more firepower to their squad at the player draft as they roped in George Linde (South Africa), Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Sikader Raza (Zimbabwe), Tendai Chatara (Zimbabwe), Antum Naqvi (Zimbabwe), Tashinga Musekiwa (Zimbabwe), Johnathan Campbell (Zimbabwe), Tinashe Muchawaya (Zimbabwe), Kimani Melius (West Indies) and Kevin Koththigoda (Sri Lanka).
The NYS Lagos side came to the draft with the signings of Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe: Global Superstar), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Akhilesh Bogudum (USA), Oshane Thomas (West Indies) already in the bag. They went onto add the likes of Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka), Matiullah Khan (UAE), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe), Clive Madande (Zimbabwe), Dion Myers (Zimbabwe), Romario Roach (Zimbabwe), Nyasha Mayavo (Zimbabwe), Newman Nyamhuri (Zimbabwe), Joshua Bishop (West Indies) and Kaveesh Sathsara (Sri Lanka).
The Bulawayo Braves Jaguars made quite the splash ahead of the player draft with the signings of David Warner (Australia: Icon), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Nick Hobson (Australia), Kobe Herft (Australia). When their turn came around, the Jaguars picked Laurie Evans (England), Sabir Ali (India), Akila Dhananjaya (Sri Lanka), Anamul Haque Bijoy (Bangladesh) Richard Ngarava (Zimbabwe), Brad Evans (Zimbabwe), Wellington Masakadza (Zimbabwe), Wessly Madhevere (Zimbabwe), Panashe Taruvinga (Zimbabwe), Victor Chirwa (Zimbabwe), Kirk McKenzie (West Indies) and Vishas Thewmika (Sri Lanka).
The Harare Bolts, who will be playing in their own backyard, have also assembled a strong squad, with the likes of Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka: Global Superstar), James Neesham (New Zealand: Icon), George Munsey (Scotland), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Shehan Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Kennar Lewis (West Indies) being picked ahead of the draft. At the final player draft, the Bolts added more bite with Richard Gleeson (England), Junaid Siddique (Canada), Lahiru Milantha (Sri Lanka), Sean Williams (Zimbabwe), Faraz Akram (Zimbabwe), Brandon Mavuta (Zimbabwe), Luke Jongwe (Zimbabwe), Alex Falao (Zimbabwe), Arinshto Vezha (Zimbabwe), Michael Palmer (West Indies) and Janishka Perera (Sri Lanka).
Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, T Ten Global Sports Founder and Chairman, said, “There is a lot of excitement ahead of Season 2 of Zim Afro T10 as the most entertaining players are set to rewrite the record books in Harare. The squads are all very competitive, strong but with a good mix of youth as well. I hope the players have a fantastic tournament, and may the best team win."