Vusumuzi Dube
Lovemore Dube
IN the player draft lists released on Monday by Zimbabwe Cricket only Chris Mpofu and Sean Williams have been selected to the teams that will take part in the Zim Cyber City Zim-Afro T10 franchise cricket tournament to run in Harare on July 20-29.
Mpofu will turn out for Harare Hurricanes while Williams will turn out for Cape Town Samp.
In a press release yesterday evening ZC said five teams – Durban Qalandars, Cape Town Samp Army, Harare Hurricanes, Bulawayo Braves and Johannesburg Buffaloes fighting it out for the inaugural honours.
Five Under-19s will be drafted into these teams after trials to take place in Bulawayo, Harare and Kwekwe.
The trails will start on Friday at Bulawayo Athletic Club from 9am to 5pm. This presents an opportunity to talented youngsters to get exposure to big names and more competitive cricket.
Some of the international stars who made the teams include Tim Seifert (New Zealand), Maheesh Theekshana (Sri Lanka), Eoin Morgan (England), Mohamed Nabi (Afghanistan), Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh), and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan) among others.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni described the introduction of the T10 franchise competition as a historic occasion.
“This is a historic day for Zimbabwean cricket and we can’t wait to open up the doors for such talented cricketers.
“Each of the five squads looks extremely strong and I am sure the cricket on display will be of the highest order.
“And I am delighted that the Zim Cyber City Zim-Afro T10 will also give young cricketers a boost as they will be rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world,” said Makoni.
Leading sports management and marketing company, T Ten Global Sports founder and chairman Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk said: “The Zim Cyber City Zim-Afro T10 player draft is a very big day for the T Ten family and Zimbabwean cricket also.
“We are very happy to see that the squads are all well balanced and quite strong, which means the tournament will be a tight one. We can’t wait for the tournament to begin and then have some of the best cricketers from Zimbabwe and around the world entertain one and all. I would like to wish all the teams the very best as they begin preparing for the cricket festival.”
Durban Qalandars: Asif Ali, Mohammed Amir, George Linde, Hazratullah Zazai, Tim Seifert, Sisanda Magala, Hilton Cartwright, Mirza Thahir Baig, Tayab Abbas, Craig Ervine, Tendai Chatara, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Nick Welch, Andre Fletcher.
Cape Town Samp Army: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sean Williams, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Maheesh Theekshana, Sheldon Cottrell, Karim Janat, Chamika Karunaratne, Peter Hatzoglou, Matthew Breetzke, Richard Ngarava, Cephas Zhuwao, Hamilton Masakadza, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Parthiv Patel, Mohamed Irfan, Stuart Binny
Harare Hurricanes: Eoin Morgan, Mohamed Nabi, Evin Lewis, Robin Uthappa, Donovon Ferreira, Shahnawaz Dahani, Duan Jansen, Samit Patel, Kevin Kothegoda, Christopher Mpofu, Regis Chakabva, Luke Jongwe, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Irfan Pathan, Khalid Shah, S Sreesanth
Bulawayo Braves: Sikandar Raza, Taskin Ahmed, Ashton Turner, Tymal Mills, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Patrick Dooley, Kobe Herft, Ryan Burl, Timycen Maruma, Joylord Gumbie, Innocent Kaia, Faraz Akram, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Johannesburg Buffaloes: Mushfiqur Rahim, Odean Smith, Tom Banton, Yusuf Pathan, Will Smeed, Noor Ahmad, Ravi Bopara, Usman Shinwari, Junior Dala, Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Mohamed Hafeez, Rahul Chopra
Online Reporter