Photo Credit: Zimbabwe Cricket
The player draft for the inaugural edition of the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10 was held on Monday, less than three weeks before the much-awaited league gets underway.
Scheduled for 20-29 July, with all matches being played in Harare, the tournament will see five teams – Durban Qalandars, Cape Town Samp Army, Harare Hurricanes, Bulawayo Braves and Johannesburg Buffaloes – fighting it out for honours.
A total of 80 players were picked during the draft and the franchises will line up as follows:
Durban Qalandars: Asif Ali, Mohammed Amir, George Linde, Hazratullah Zazai, Tim Seifert, Sisanda Magala, Hilton Cartwright, Mirza Thahir Baig, Tayab Abbas, Craig Ervine, Tendai Chatara, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Nick Welch, Andre Fletcher.
Cape Town Samp Army: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sean Williams, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Maheesh Theekshana, Sheldon Cottrell, Karim Janat, Chamika Karunaratne, Peter Hatzoglou, Matthew Breetzke, Richard Ngarava, Cephas Zhuwao, Hamilton Masakadza, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Parthiv Patel, Mohamed Irfan, Stuart Binny
Harare Hurricanes: Eoin Morgan, Mohamed Nabi, Evin Lewis, Robin Uthappa, Donovon Ferreira, Shahnawaz Dahani, Duan Jansen, Samit Patel, Kevin Kothegoda, Christopher Mpofu, Regis Chakabva, Luke Jongwe, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Irfan Pathan, Khalid Shah, S Sreesanth
Bulawayo Braves: Sikandar Raza, Taskin Ahmed, Ashton Turner, Tymal Mills, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Patrick Dooley, Kobe Herft, Ryan Burl, Timycen Maruma, Joylord Gumbie, Innocent Kaia, Faraz Akram, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Johannesburg Buffaloes: Mushfiqur Rahim, Odean Smith, Tom Banton, Yusuf Pathan, Will Smeed, Noor Ahmad, Ravi Bopara, Usman Shinwari, Junior Dala, Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Mohamed Hafeez, Rahul Chopra
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 Mr 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 looks extremely strong and I am sure the cricket on display will be of the highest order.
“And I am delighted that the Zim Cyber City Zim-Afro T10 will also give young cricketers a boost as they will be rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world.”
T Ten Global Sports Founder and Chairman Mr Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk said: “The Zim Cyber City Zim-Afro T10 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.
“I would like to wish all the teams the very best as they begin preparing for the cricket festival.”
