Dubai: Caribbean legend Brian Lara will light up the upcoming T10 Cricket League, to be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in December. The Kerala Kings, who are expected to draw a huge fan following from among UAE expatriates, have roped in Lara as their team’s mentor coach and also appointed England skipper Eoin Morgan as the team’s captain and brand ambassador.
Hussain Adam Ali, chairman, Swiss Arabian Perfume Group, and Dr Nawab Shafi-Ul Mulk, chairman, Mulk Healthcare Group, are the owners of the Kerala Kings team. “The reason why I chose the Kerala Kings franchise is because of my market base here. The Keralites are among my biggest customers. So when Shaji-Ul Mulk [chairman of T10 league] suggested the idea of T10 league, I readily agreed,” said Ali.
Shafi-Ul Mulk, who has sponsored many UAE sports events like India Club badminton, said: “We are definitely going to have a huge fan base here during the league. This is a great way to compliment the Kerala expat population for whom sport and the very mention of their state brings out emotions and moments of joy.”
In the ‘Pick Order’ Draw of the six franchise owners, Kerala clinched the fifth pick position.
“Like in major international sports leagues such as NFL, NBA and PSL [Pakistan Super League], the ‘Pick Order’ Draw determines which team will get the first pick in the Player Draft to be held in Dubai on November 5. The owners picked up one of the six randomly placed bats and peeled off a hidden number from 1 to 6 to determine who will get the first and last pick in the first round of the Draft,” said Shaji-Ul Mulk.
As per the pick, Maratha Arabian owners Parvez Khan and Ali Tumbi picked the No. 1 bat to give them a headstart in the draft. Colombo Lions co-owners Vijay Vyas and Kashif Shahzad picked up bat No. 2, Pakhtoons owner Habib Khan selected bat No. 3, Bengal Tigers’s co-owner Anis Sajan claimed bat No. 4, Kerala Kings co-owner Hussain Adam Ali got bat No. 5 while Punjabi Legends had to settle for bat No. 6.
Aided with the advantage of securing their favourite players in the first round of the upcoming Draft, all teams are eyeing the best in the business. Maratha Arabians are being led by Virender Sehwag whereas the large number of Bengalis in the UAE are gearing up to back Bengal Tigers owned by Danube founder and chairman, Rizwan Sajan, and the company’s Managing Director, Anis Sajan, along with Sirajuddin Alam and Neelesh Bhatnager.
“I hold a strong connection and commitment towards cricket. Whether it’s Gujarat Tigers, Kerala Kings or Bengal Tigers, for me cricket is not business,” said Anis Sajan.
