Associated with it in different capacities, list of former players - Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Darren Sammy, Dean Jones and Robin Singh - have given their approval to the T10 league cricket competition, which is set for its second edition in United Arab Emirates this November and December.
"I was there last time in Sharjah and the stadium was full for four days. It was a different ballgame, it was so quick there was no time to even breath as a batsman or even think. This is one of those formats where bowlers can get paid to get hit. It is fun." said the great Wasim Akram, who having played the role of a mentor and coach of the Maratha Arabians, is now also the director of the T10 Leagues' Talent Hunt programme in Pakistan, "I feel the shorter format in cricket is the future and T10 is the answer for it."
In line with this, former Australian batsman Dean Jones, when asked whether the game can get even shorter in the future, said, "I don’t think it will get any lower. In a way, I am starting to think that bowlers are going to get smarter in cricket. So far batsmen only used to get ahead of the bowlers." and added, "The best offensive teams in T20 teams win in also 50-over cricket, so I think the same will be in T10 cricket. You need to field and take the right catches. This might be the format that will do well in the United States and Canada. I am hoping T10 could be the right format for even the Olympics,"
Reacting on the development of the competition, which will be an eight-team tournament from now onwards, Darren Sammy, icon player of Northern Warriors team, feels, “It is entertaining and cricket should be entertaining. Earlier it was T20 that brought in entertainment. This format is another opportunity to bring more fans into the game. It is hard on the bowlers but it brings a lot of excitement to the fans. Fans come to watch and get entertained and hopefully it will bring more new fans into the game.”
Coach for the same franchise, former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh added, “Last year I was involved with the champion team. It was very different. The first thing I thought when T20 came is that it will get more runs. Teams were scoring over 200 runs and with this format, runs are scored even faster.”
On the cricketing aspect of it, Daniel Vettori, who has joined in as a coach for the defending champions Kerala Kings, was asked whether it'll be difficult to motivate the spin bowlers in this format.
He replied, "I think I was asked such a question before T20 began. If you look through the record books spinners have been very successful. Every ball someone is going to attack you and one has to work their way out and think differently. Spinners are a danger in T20 and hence will be T10 too. It increases the intensity of the planning. You can translate the experiences from T20 into this format."
The players' draft for this edition of the competition will be conducted on Monday, October 1.
