Sharjah: Inspired by the success of the second season of the T10 League, Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman of the tournament, predicted a great future for the game’s newest format.
“The T10 is a unique league. Now the world is talking about what T10 is all about. The players loved it. And yes, for us looking ahead, I will be not be surprised if there is a T10 World Cup in future and if T10 becomes an Olympic event,” Mulk told reporters after Sunday’s final in which Northern Warriors beat Pakhtoons by 22 runs.
Sunday’s grand finale at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium was the cherry on the cake for the 12-day tournament that attracted some of the biggest names in the game today – Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.
The second season of the league also saw retired stars like Shahid Afridi, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson and Zaheer Khan.
“The tournament has gone beyond our expectations. We really made it a huge success. The challenge was huge because we are talking about tripling the size of the tournament. Last year it was a four-day event, and this year it was a 12-day tournament,” Mulk said.
“And then the way the cricket was played, the quality of the cricket, starting off with almost three T10 records, you know, the fastest 50, two hat tricks, 183 scored in 10 overs and plus the last-ball thrillers. I think this tournament this year has really proven what the T10 format is all about.”
The third season, according to Mulk, will be even better.
“Now we have also announced the Season 3 for the next year which will be in October. The tentative dates are October 16 to 25. But we could be flexible by a few days here and there. We look forward to a much bigger tournament next year,” he said.
“Also, we are happy with the eight-team format. Maybe after two-three years, we will reevaluate if we need extra teams.”
Mulk says the UAE will continue to be the host country for the event. “The UAE will be the fixed venue for this tournament. Yes, we are planning to take T10 to other countries as well. But that would be a different property,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohomed Morani, co-owner of Northern Warriors, revealed the secret to his team’s success. “We got Darren Sammy and Robin Singh on board. We took Robin away from last year’s champions Kerala. We also took Wahab Riaz from Kerala. That was the key,” he said.
