Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle set to play unique T10 league

What’s the story?

Former India batsman Virender Sehwag will be seen in action once again in a never-seen-before version of cricket set to take place in the United Arab Emirates in Decemver. He will be joined by the likes of Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara and Shahid Afridi, who have all been named as the brand ambassadors of the 'T10' tournament.

We are very excited about the concept of T10 as it brings cricket to the level of world sports of 90 minutes and fast pace action. We all enjoy T20. Wait till you experience T10! We have based this league on a South Asian concept as we have a dominant south Asian, cricket crazy population in the UAE and GCC”, Mulk Holding, a member of the Emirates Cricket Board, was quoted as saying.

In case you didn’t know…

Sehwag, who retired from international cricket in 2015, was seen playing for the Gemini Arabians in the Master Champions League last year.

The tournament, said to be filled with brand new innovations on the field, will have a grand opening ceremony in the United Arab Emirates. More than 20 famous celebrities are expected to perform for the length of the four-day event.

The heart of the matter

Much like football, cricket will see 90 minutes of action with each side playing 10 overs each. The auctions for the same will be held in UAE.

Till now, the teams finalised for the event are: Team Punjabis, Team Pakhtoons, Team Maratha, Team Banglas, Team Lankans, Team Sindhis and Team Keralites. Afridi will be captaining the Pakhtoons side.

What’s next?

The event is scheduled to begin on December 21 and will go on till December 24 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.

Author’s take

For those who have grown up watching the likes of Sehwag play, tournaments like these present an exciting opportunity to watch the now retired players return to action and play once again. The new T10 league is another extension of cricket's changing dynamics, with the number of overs reducing with each passing decade.

While more details are yet to emerge regarding the nature of the games and the players set to play, ardent cricket fans will surely mark their calendars in anticipation of the unique event.