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Stars prepare to battle in Harare's Zim Afro T10 League

Five franchises pick up a slew of famous cricketers including Morgan, Amir, Raza, Rajapaksa, Hafeez, Gurbaz and Pathan at players' draft

Some of the world's best white-ball cricketers including England World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan will descend on Harare to compete in the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10 tournament to be held from July 20-20.

The inaugural edition is a landmark tournament as this is the first-time franchise cricket is a part of Zimbabwean cricket.

The five teams who will be battling it out for top honours are the Durban Qalandars, CapeTown Samp Army, Harare Hurricanes, Bulawayo Braves and Johannesburg Buffaloes.

The five franchises came together during a grand ceremony at the Player Draft and finalised their squads, forming impressive line-ups, which promises to produce some entertaining cricket.

All the teams will add another player to each of their squads in the coming days as five cricketers will be picked from the nationwide Emerging Player programme, which is designed to provide the youngsters with a chance to break onto the big stage.

Zimbabwe Cricket Managing Director Givemore Makoni said: “This is a historic day for Zimbabwean cricket and we can’t wait to open up the doors for such talented cricketers.

"Each of the five squads look extremely strong and I am sure the cricket on display will be of the highest order.

"I am delighted that the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10 will also give the young cricketers a boost as they will be rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world," he added/

T Ten Global Sports Founder and Chairman Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk said: “The Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10’s Player Draft is a very big day for the T Ten family and Zimbabwean cricket also.

"We are very happy to see that the squads are all well-balanced and quite strong, which means the tournament will be a tight one.

"We can’t wait for the tournament to begin and then have some of the best cricketers from Zimbabwe and around the world entertain one and all."

The squads after the draft

The Durban Qalandars (15 players): Asif Ali, Mohammed Amir, George Linde, Hazratullah Zazai, Tim Sifert, Sisanda Magala, Hilton Cartwright, Mirza Thahir Baig, Tayab Abbas, Craig Ervin, Tendai Chatara, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Nick Welch, and Andre Fleture.

The CapeTown Samp Army (17 players): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shaun Williams, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Maheesh Theekshana, Sheldon Cottrel, Karim Janat, Chamika Karunaratne, Peter Hazlogou, Matthew Breetzke, Richard Ngarava, Zhuwao Cephas, Hamilton Masakadza, Tadshwani Marumani, Tinashe Kamunakewe, Parthiv Patel, Mohamed Irfan, and Stuart Binny.

The Harare Hurricanes (17 players): Eoin Morgan headlining the squad. Also on the team are Mohamed Nabi, Evin Lewis, Robin Uthappa, Donovon Ferraira, Shahzawaz Dahani, Duan Jansen, Samit Patel, Kevin Kothegoda, Christopher Mpofu, Regis Chakabva, Luke Jonwe, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Mushiwa, Irfan Pathan, Khalid Shah, and S Sreesanth.

The Bulawayo Braves (15 players): Sikander Raza, Taskin Ahmed, Ashton Turner, Tymal Mills, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Patrick Dooley, Kobe Herft, Rayen Burl, Timycen Maruma, Joylord Gumbie, Innocent Kaia, Faraz Akram and Mujeeb Ur Rehaman.

The Johannesburg Buffaloes (16 players): Mushfiqur Rahim, Odean Smith, Tom Banton, Yusuf Pathan, Will Smeed, Noor Ahmad, Ravi Bopara, Usman Shinwari, Junior Dala, Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, Wesley Madhevere, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Mohamed Hafeez, and Rahul Chopra.

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