Cricket: Top players named for 2nd T10 League

Some of the best short-format cricketers from around the world will be a part of the second edition of the T10 League, to be played later this year.

The mini draft ahead of the league was conducted on Tuesday, 24 July in Dubai, with the eight teams – up from six last time – picking their icon player and four others.

Kerala Kings, the 2017 champions, retained Eoin Morgan, choosing him as their icon player, while the other first-edition teams chose Rashid Khan (Maratha Arabians), Shahid Afridi (Pakhtoons), Sunil Narine (Bengal Tigers), Shoaib Malik (Punjabi Legends) and Brendon McCullum (Rajputs – earlier Team Sri Lanka).

Bengal Tigers
Icon Player: Sunil Narine
Other Players: Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Asif Ali, Mujeeb ur Rahman

Karachians
Icon Player: Shane Watson
Other Players: Jofra Archer, Anton Devcich, Colin de Grandhomme, Ben Laughlin

Kerala Kings
Icon Player: Eoin Morgan
Other Players: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir, Paul Stirling, Dasun Shanaka

Maratha Arabians
Icon Player: Rashid Khan
Other Players: James Faulkner, Alex Hales, Dwayne Bravo, Kamran Akmal

Northern Warriors
Icon Player: Darren Sammy
Other Players: Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith, Wahab Riaz, Nicholas Pooran

Pakhtoons
Icon Player: Shahid Afridi
Other Players: Colin Ingram, David Willey, Mohammad Irfan, Liam Dawson

Punjabi Legends
Icon Player: Shoaib Malik
Other Players: Evin Lewis, Chris Jordan, Luke Ronchi, Liam Plunkett

Rajputs
Icon Player: Brendon McCullum
Other Players: Mohammad Hafeez, Rilee Rossouw, Chris Lynn, Mohammad Shahzad

Northern Warriors and Karachians, the two new franchises, opted for Darren Sammy and Shane Watson respectively.

The remainder of the teams will be picked in the second draft in September.

The first edition of the tournament was played over four days in December last year in Sharjah. A total of 13 games were played, making it a neatly packed tournament.

This time, with two teams added, there will be 28 games, with the action spanning 10 days. - ICC