Warriors, Marathas drawn in tough group for AD T10 League

Mohammad Abdullah , Staff Reporter

Dubai: The draw for the third edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League was held in Dubai amid fanfare on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi T10 is the world’s only ten-over cricket league to be officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).

A total of eight teams will participate in the third edition of the tournament that gets under way on Nov.14 in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, the eight teams were divided into two groups of four each. Bangla Tigers, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls and Karnataka Tuskers were drawn in Group A while Group B features Northern Warriors, Maratha Arabians, Lahore Qalandars and Team 8, which is yet to be announced.

Warriors are the defending champions and Maratha Arabians is one team that have been a permanent feature of the league right from its inception. So their experience in the AD 10 League – the only recognised ten-over league in the world – makes them a dangerous proposition for their opponents.

Moreover, Group B also features new entrants Lahore Qalandars, who already have a team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) which makes them top contenders with all their experience in the shorter format and franchise cricket.

In the preliminary round, teams from the same groups will lock horns with each other and the top two teams will advance to the next round of the tournament.

In the last three years, several new teams have been included in the tournament as the league kept witnessed an unprecedented growth.

From a humble beginning with only five teams in the inaugural edition, it has swelled to an eight-team league. The first edition featured only 10 matches that were played across four days at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

In the second edition the tournament added one more team and was held across two venues Dubai and Sharjah.

But the growth story continued and the tournament was rebranded as AD T10 League after the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Abu Dhabi Cricket Council joined hands and became title sponsors.

AD T10 League added a new chapter to their growth story as they welcomed two new teams, Bangla Tigers and Lahore Qalandars.

The addition of a new star-studded team to the strong line-up of AD T10 will add more flavour and colour to the tournament.

The advent of two new teams reaffirms the status of the AD T10 as one of the most sought-after cricketing events on the international roster.

The presence of top cricketers like England’s World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan, former captain of two-time World T20 champions Darren Sammy, former Australian skipper Shane Watson, Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan and Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga makes it one of the most star-studded tourneys.

The flamboyant former Pakistan opener, Shahid Afridi, will also be seen in Qalandars colours in the third edition that will resonate well with the huge Pakistani community in the country, particularly Pakhtoons.