T10 League plan on adding two new teams

The flagship T10 tournament, which took place in Sharjah last year, has been a success story. And after an overwhelming response in the inaugural edition, the tournament’s governing council has announced plans for the expansion of the event. The entire concept of T10 League was the brainchild of chairman, Shaji-ul-Mulk, an innovator in his own right and president Salman Iqbal of ARY Group.

As part of the expansion plans, an Invitation To Tender (ITT) was released for two new teams to be added to the tournament. The first edition of the tournament featured six teams, but in 2018 the plan is to increase the number of franchises to eight. With the focus of the tournament being strongly South Asian, it was decided by the governing council that the two new teams will continue to build on that association. Accordingly, the prospective bidders can choose the franchise names according to their preference.

Speaking about the developments, Iqbal opined, “We have conducted a thorough review of the first edition of the tournament. The stage is now set for us to take off to the next level by adding two new teams. We are looking to complete the process as early as possible so that we can scale up the preparations this year.”

Details of the first season

The first edition was held at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The six sides featuring in the flagship event. The tournament is best remembered for presenting to the world, cricket’s own version of 90-minute contests lasting 10-overs-a-side and that too in just four days.

The first season was held under the aegis of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), with the active support of Sri Lana Cricket (SLC), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and T10 officials can expect a greater participation in the future. It is only befitting that such an innovative approach be taken to garner more spectator and fan base.