A brand new T20 league called Global Power Cricket League (GPCL) is all set to get underway in Delhi on October 2. The tournament will run till October 9, comprising eight teams from different countries.
One of the teams participating in this competition is from India, going by the name of Indian Sapphires. They have picked a star-studded squad, featuring some of the well-known names in international circuit.
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The 15-member squad includes India’s 2011 World Cup winners Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan. Munaf has been given the responsibility to lead the side. The right-arm pacer represented India in 13 Tests, 70 ODIs and 3 T20Is, claiming 125 wickets across formats. He also appeared in 63 IPL matches for multiple franchises, taking 74 scalps.
On the other hand, Yusuf played 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India, scoring a total of 1046 runs with two international centuries. The right-handed swashbuckler is also known for his IPL exploits, scoring 3204 runs in 174 matches at an impressive strike rate of 142.97 and playing a key role in Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders’ title wins in 2008 and 2014.
The squad also features former Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib, who has represented his country in 72 ODIs and 53 T20Is so far, scoring over 1600 runs and picking 81 wickets. He is still an active cricketer for Afghanistan and led his national team during the 2019 World Cup in England.
The Indian Sapphires have roped in wicketkeeper batter Mahesh Rawat as well. Rawat is a renowned name in India’s domestic circuit, having the experience of 115 First-Class matches and 67 List A games. He has also turned up in 18 IPL matches.
Sharing the dressing room with the aforementioned seasoned campaigners will certainly help the young cricketers in the Indian Sapphires squad. As per the GPCL regulations, the average age of the squad hasn’t exceeded 25 years as the rest of the players are quite young and still finding their feet in professional cricket.
Indian Sapphires are slotted in Pool A alongside English Reds, Scottish Mulberries and American Indigos. They will open their campaign against American Indigos on October 2.
Indian Sapphires Squad:
Munaf Patel (c), Yusuf Pathan, Gulbadin Naib, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Shiva Singh, Rajbir Singh, Shivam Sharma, Karthik Singh, Uvais Chaudhary, Dinesh Kumar, Vishal Gaur, Shivam Singh, Yogesh Kumar, Niesant Alvares, Asif Mansoori
