Gujarat gears up for Stallion T10 cricket league

The game of cricket has witnessed a plethora of changes ever since its induction, and with the dawn of modern formats, the game has only become more interesting. The latest format to be introduced is T10 cricket- matches spanning for 10 overs in each innings.

The T10 leagues, of late, has gained a lot of prominence. Only last year, the flagship tournament was held in Sharjah which featured the likes of Virender Sehwag, Eoin Morgan, Shahid Afridi amongst others. This format has also received a lot of backing from veteran cricketers and pundits and it’s only a matter of time till this format gets commercialized.

The T10 cricket has already garnered enough popularity. A testament to that is the Stallions Premier League, a cricket tournament organised among the Gujarati community by the Stallions Group. The Indian Premier League (IPL)-style tournament will see the participation of eight teams as it enters its third edition in 2018. Kerala cricket team captain and former Royal Challengers Bangalore star Sachin Baby will inaugurate the Stallions Premier League, to be played in Thevara, on Sunday.

The opening match will see Veer United face Jeet Challengers while Dabang Warriors will face Cochin Super Kings in another match on the same day. Yuva Strikers, United Strikers, Merry Makers and Infinity XI are the other teams in the league. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals. The semifinals and finals are scheduled to be played on January 28. All matches will be played in a 10-over format.

T10 format apt to be inducted into Olympics

Although there was a public cynicism about the game’s format, the flagship tournament in Sharjah reaped good support from fans and players. The T10 format takes just 90 minutes. It means three to four games can be played in a day like other Olympic sports. The event could be done in a week’s time which would absolutely fit into the Olympic time frame.

Sehwag, who was the sole representation from India, believes T10 is the ideal format that will take cricket to the Olympics. He had said: “I strongly believe that T10 is the future. If the International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to take cricket to the Olympics, this is the right format for each match finishes in 90 minutes.”