(UTV|COLOMBO) – The second season of the T10 league received a massive boost of star power with Chris Gayle, Rashid Khan, Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi and many more joining the rosters of the eight participating teams. A player draft was held on Monday, where several current and former internationals were recruited for the tournament that will take place in Sharjah between November 23 and December 2.
Gayle will be joined by his West Indies team-mate Kieron Pollard and England captain Eoin Morgan at Kerala Kings. The defending champions, they also picked up the 36-year-old Pakistan batsman Imran Nazir, whose career had suffered because of arthritis.
Rashid has Dwayne Bravo and Lasith Malinga for company at Maratha Arabians. Russell, Darren Sammy and Wahab Riaz form a part of the Northern Warriors. Afridi and Colin Munro were picked up by the Pakhtoon franchise. Sunil Narine, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Morne Morkel are with Bengal Tigers.
Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn – called the Bash Brothers in the BBL – will renew their partnership with the Rajputs, who also have World T20-winning captain Carlos Brathwaite and the explosive Afghanistan batsman Mohammad Shahzad. Shoaib Malik, Mitchell McClenaghan and Evin Lewis were acquired by Punjabi Legends. Shane Watson, Jofra Archer and Thisara Perera will play for Karachians.
Kerala Kings: Eoin Morgan (Icon Player, Captain, England), Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan), Kieron Pollard (WI), Paul Stirling (Ire), Dasun Shanaka (SL), Chris Gayle (WI), Junaid Khan (Pak), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nep), Tom Curran (Eng), Fabian Allen (WI), Niroshan Dickwella (SL), Imran Nazir (Pak), Benny Howell (Eng). Coach Daniel Vettori
Pakhtoons: Shahid Afridi (Icon Player, Pak), Mohammad Irfan (Pak), Liam Dawson (Eng), Colin Ingram (SA), David Willey (Eng), Colin Munro (NZ), Andre Fletcher (WI), Sohail Khan (Pak), Sharafuddin Ashraf (Afg), Chadwick Walton (WI), Shapoor Zadran (Afg), Gulbadin Naib (Afg), Cameron Delport (SA). Coach: Dean Jones
Maratha Arabians: Rashid Khan (Icon Player, Afg), Kamran Akmal (Pak), Alex Hales (Eng), Dwayne Bravo (WI), James Faulkner (Aus), Lasith Malinga (SL), Liam Livingstone (Eng), James Vince (Eng), Brendan Taylor (Zim), Adam Lyth (Eng), Roelof van der Merwe (Ned), Najibullah Zadran (Afg), Richard Gleeson (Eng). Coach: Wasim Akram
Bengal Tigers: Sunil Narine (Icon Player, WI), Jason Roy (Eng), Asif Ali (Pak), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg), Sam Billings (Eng), Morne Morkel (SA), Aamer Yamin (Pak), Mohammad Nabi (Afg), Kusal Perera (SL), Sherfane Rutherford (WI), Kevon Cooper (WI), Rayad Emrit (WI), Ali Khan (US). Coach: Stephen Flemming
Rajputs: Brendon McCullum (Icon Player, NZ), Chris Lynn (Aus), Rilee Rossouw (SA), Mohammad Shahzad (Afg), Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Tymal Mills (Eng), Carlos Brathwaite (WI), Rahat Ali (Pak), Samit Patel (Eng), Qais Ahmad (Afg), Ben Dunk (Aus), Shan Masood (Pak), Peter Trego (Eng). Coach: Herschelle Gibbs
Northern Warriors: Darren Sammy (Icon Player, WI), Wahab Riaz (Pak), Nicolas Pooran (WI), Andre Russell (WI), Dwayne Smith (WI), Ravi Bopara (Eng), Rovman Powell (WI), Harry Gurney (Eng), Chris Green (Aus), Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons (WI), Khary Pierre (WI), Kennar Lewis (WI). Coach: Robin Singh
Punjabi Legends: Shoaib Malik (Icon Player, Pak), Chris Jordan (Eng), Luke Ronchi (NZ), Liam Plunkett (Eng), Evin Lewis (WI), Mohammad Sami (Pak), Zahir Khan (Afg), Umar Akmal (Pak), Mitchell McClenaghan (NZ), Tom Moores (Eng), Anwar Ali (Pak), Jade Dernbach (Eng), Hassan Khan (Pak). Coach: Mushtaq Ahmed
Karachians: Shane Watson (Icon Player), Anton Devcich (NZ), Ben Laughlin (Aus), Jofra Archer (Eng), Colin de Grandhomme (NZ), Ben Cutting (Aus), Mohammad Nawaz (Pak), Dawid Malan (Eng), Fawad Ahmed (Aus), Isuru Udana (SL), Joe Clarke (Eng), Samiullah Shenwari (Afg), Mohammad Irfan (Pak). Coach: Tom Moody
Courtesy : espncricinfo
