Wasim Akram urges players to embrace gully cricket

The inaugural edition of the Ten Premier League (10PL) gully cricket tournament has been a success story. Held under the auspices of the Sharjah Cricket Council, the flagship event saw 16 teams battling for a prize money of Dh 250,000 and the coveted title. Ahead of the second edition, veteran Pakistan speedster Wasim Akram wants gully cricket, that paved the way for him to earn international laurels garner more popularity.

Accepting to be the brand ambassador of the second edition of the 10 Premier League (10PL), to be played with a tennis ball from March 19-23, Akram wants everyone to enjoy cricket by following the path that took him to the epitome of fame.

Akram’s love for tennis ball cricket goes back to childhood and it’s only from the age of 16 that he started playing with a cricket ball. Recollecting how gully cricket has helped him develop, Akram said, “All of us in the subcontinent have grown up playing tennis ball cricket on the streets. Some of us have learned key tricks that have helped us on the bigger stage as well. A tournament is a right platform for raw talents to showcase what they are capable of doing.”

The second edition of 10PL promises to be even bigger

The tournament is the brainchild of Arif Khan, Executive Director of Petromann who has understood the nuances of the gully cricket having played the game himself in the 1990’s in Mumbai.  On their roadmap to extend gully cricket worldwide, the board has thus decided to include more teams than last year, especially from the subcontinent. The flagship event witnessed teams from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman.

And unlike the first, the second edition will feature 20 teams as it promises to be the biggest ever in grandeur. The tournament boasts of a lucrative prize money of Dh250,000, highest for tennis ball cricket tournaments anywhere in the world. This has also attracted several cricketers, who are experts in tennis ball cricket, getting flown in to compete in the tournament.