Abu Dhabi T10: Lorgat appointed as director of strategy and development

Haroon Lorgat is the former CEO of the International Cricket Council and Cricket South Africa. He has also been advisor to Sri Lanka Cricket.

Haroon Lorgat's inclusion in Abu Dhabi T10 league will boost the tournament's popularity.

Former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer, Haroon Lorgat, has been appointed the director of strategy and development for the Abu Dhabi T10.

A seasoned administrator, Lorgat has been associated with various cricket boards in the past - a special advisor to Sri Lanka Cricket and also the CEO of Cricket South Africa - and now, the promoters of the T10 tournament believes that Lorgat’s inclusion will be a big boost.

“Haroon brings with him the world of contacts and the knowledge and experience which is exciting for the T10. We are now ready to move forward,” Shaji-ul Mulk, the founder and the chairman of the league, said during an interaction on Monday.

Speaking about the appointment, Lorgat said that it’s ‘very different’ to what he has done before. “I have been involved in long-form cricket and in federations, this is different,” he said.

READ|

The fourth edition of the league is scheduled from January 28 to February 6 next year. The organisers are confident that it will be a success as more ‘top cricketers’ are expected to join the bandwagon.

“There is no change to the format. It’s tried and tested and it will be a 10-day event. The number of teams will continue to be eight, but there are some ongoing discussions with some of the top teams. We also expect the numbers to increase (in terms of viewership),” Mulk said, adding that the decision on whether the fans will be allowed will be decided on the policies set by the local government.

“In terms of international players, there has been enormous interest and there is a very good window. In normally busy FTP, we have got a fairly good slot to have big names,” Mulk said.

READ|

Over the last few editions, some of the retired Indian cricketers - including Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan - had featured in the league.

“We will welcome the Indian players. The player registration process will start in the next couple of weeks. We are getting a lot of interest and we will continue to encourage the Indian players as allowed by the BCCI,” Mulk said.

Ever since its inception, there have been allegations of corruption in the T10 League and both Mulk and Lorgat admit that they have ‘zero tolerance policy’ for corruption. The ICC’s anti-corruption unit will handle the operations.