Zaheer, Badrinath and RP Singh to glitz up T10 League

While the players maintain silence claiming that the talks ‘are still on’, the organisers have gone on record claiming that the five cricketers, who have retired from international cricket, will feature in the tournament.

Zaheer Khan is most likely to feature in the second edition of the T10 League.

The T10 League, which begins in Sharjah in November, has roped in some of the biggest names of Indian cricket. The second edition of the tournament is most likely to see Zaheer Khan, S. Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Reetinder Singh Sodhi in action.

While most of the players chose not to come on record, Zaheer confirmed to  Sportstar  that he has signed up for the league. “It is true. I will be available (for the league),” Zaheer said.

T10 League chairman, Shaji ul Mulk, said, “I am happy to announce that we have signed up eight Indian players to play in the second season of the tournament. This will encourage players from all over the world to join the T10 League movement and help popularize the 10-over format cricket worldwide in the coming years,” the

READ: Sehwag, Afridi and McCullum to be icons for T10 league

Virender Sehwag — who was part of the league last year—posted a picture on Monday of the five players on Twitter saying: “ T10 Mein Swagat!" , which translates to "Welcome to T10!"

Such a delight to see men from India support and participate in the season 2 of #T10League. Looking forward to some magical swing from my friend, @ImZaheer. #T10League#T10StandsTall#NamasteSharjah#BusAbDuspic.twitter.com/gqWo7cHDY0

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 22, 2018

 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) so far, has not allowed any of its contracted or domestic players to feature in any overseas franchise leagues.

“A retired cricketer does not fall under the BCCI’s purview, so if he wants, he can play in any tournament on individual capacity. The Board cannot stop him from doing so,” a source in the know of things said.

However, some of these players are regular commentators for BCCI tournaments, so it would be interesting to see whether the Board takes a stand on that.

Praveen Kumar called it quits from all forms of cricket last year, while RP decided to call it a day a few months ago which makes them both eligible for the league.

It has been learnt that there will be a separate draft for the teams to pick the Indian players soon.

“We are expecting a few more Indian players in the tournament. The talks are on with the others. You could see a few more big names,” Mulk said.

The organisers are planning to unveil the Indian players at an event in Mumbai next week.

In its inaugural edition last year, Sehwag was the only player from India who featured in the tournament. Moreover, he captained the Maratha Arabians too.

However, this time, with the organisers bringing in some of the biggest names of Indian cricket into the fold, we are sure to see it all glitzed up.