Shahid Afridi is all set to play in the upcoming season of Abu Dhabi T10 League. He believes that this format will take the game of cricket in the Olympics.

Afridi said, “I think fans love T10 because it is fast-paced and the matches are over in 90 minutes. Cricket should always evolve and look at ways to maintain the excitement among the youngsters, and I think the Abu Dhabi T10 provides us a great opportunity to keep testing the format, and potentially take cricket to the Olympic Games.”

The former Pakistan cricketer, who has played close to 500 limited-overs matches for his country, will captain the Qalandars in the tournament. The Qalandars franchise bats for cricket in Pakistan and supports the game in the nation. The all-rounder is excited to represent the side.

“I am really looking forward to playing for the Qalandars in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10. The franchise has also been a part of the PSL and has been supporting cricket through multiple programmes in the region. Their developmental programme received national recognition earlier this year, and I am delighted to be playing T10 for a new team. I’m really looking forward to seeing them pick a solid side and achieve our ambitions of winning the tournament,” he said.

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The tournament will commence in exactly a month’s time in UAE. He is of the opinion that T10 will also gain acceptance later as T20 did. The T20 format has evolved from being called "vague" to being arguably the most followed format of the sport.

“My fellow cricketers are very happy with the T10 format and so are the fans. T20 cricket was not accepted widely early on, but now we have a T20 World Cup being played. So I believe that with time, there will be more participation from established international players in the Abu Dhabi T10,” the 44-year-old said.

(Inputs from IANS)