You could be the next international cricket star - An interview with Vishal Vyas of Dreams2Play

Dreams2Play was founded with exactly its name in mind, a dream of empowering the youth and unrecognized talent around the world. The brainchild of a serial entrepreneur, Vishal Vyas, Dreams2Play hopes to find and empower eight lucky and talented cricketers to play for the Abu Dhabi T10 League in November 2019.

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Like with all technology disruptors, Dreams2Play hit the ball out of the park in its first month of infancy and signed with the internationally recognized Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Dreams2Play has managed to attract talks across all the major parts of the cricketing world, and with the second edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League set to commence on November 14th, Vishal speaks about Dreams2Play being a testament to his belief of matching the prospect of consumer benefit, and a lot more. Excerpts below -

Q. What is Dreams2Play?

Dreams2Play is the world’s first digital to physical global talent hunt app or technology for the bright cricket stars of tomorrow. We are allowing over 100 unknown players to play international cricket.

Q. Why come up with all of this now?

This is the time when technology is disrupting every industry as we speak for the benefit of consumers. With talk of nepotism and favouritism plaguing most national and domestic league sides in the region, this is the ultimate disruptor of talent acquisition.

Cricket talent acquisition is very close to my heart, as previously I co-owned a team with my father in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and many amateur/semiprofessional players were reaching out to me, asking for a shot!

That is when the idea struck me. That was the moment when I realized that I had finally found a way to give back to a game I truly love.

Q. How does it work?

It is an easy 4-step process of completing your profile, paying the entry fee of 30 USD, recording/uploading your videos, and finally submitting your entry. We ask our budding cricketers to complete their profile by selecting their disciple of either batting, bowling or wicket keeping/fielding, describing their cricketing experience (whether they have competed at school, college, state or even domestic level).

The videos will be sent to our ICC approved coaches for judgment of their skills and technique. Some of our coaches include famous sporting greats like Tom Moody (Karnataka Tuskers), Mushtaq Ahmed (Deccan Gladiators) and Douggie Brown (UAE National Coach and Team Abu Dhabi).

Q. What are the chances of these players being picked for the Abu Dhabi T10 League?

100 percent! Out of all the players chosen in the global talent hunt, we will shortlist 100 players. The shortlisted player profiles will be forwarded to the head coaches of all the eight teams participating in this year’s edition of the Abu Dhabi T10. All the teams have pledged to select one out of 100 emerging player talents from our global talent hunt.

Q. Once selected, what can the emerging players expect?

The ride of their life! They will be a part of the team and will get a chance to hone their skills and techniques. They will get to chance to perform on a grand stage with over 300 million eyes watching them.

The Abu Dhabi T10 along with Dreams2play will give them a full ride, complete with a player contract, hotel stay, and airfare. It takes ages for anyone to be recognized even in some of the best setups such as Australia and England. We are giving undiscovered players a chance that no one has given them. I am a firm believer of second chances; I believe everyone deserves a chance.

Q. What do you hope to achieve?

To tell you the truth, unearthing 1-2 globally recognized players would be a dream come true. I want to be sitting in front of the TV in five years and say ‘’I found that player’’, that would be enough for me that I helped somebody out.

Q. Your hopes for the future?

My hope for the future is that we stay cricket centric for the time being and align ourselves with all the domestic leagues such as Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, and the Big Bash League.

We wish to become the number one platform for teams looking for emerging talent. Nevertheless, my dream will always be to give the undiscovered talent in the world a shot at international stardom. To change a life for the better is at the core and ethos of Dreams2Play.