Dubai: The T10 League that won the hearts of cricket lovers last year is now out to win over talented young cricketers. They have appointed two legends of the game — Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin as directors of their Talent Hunt programme along with Vijay Dutt Vyas, the owner of Rajputs team, in the role of Global T10 League Talent Hunt director.
Akram will be on a mission to hunt talented cricketers in Pakistan while Azharuddin will do the same in India.
Replying to a query from Gulf News on how he was scouted as a youngster, Akram said: “I was spotted by Javed Miandad and came into the Pakistan team where I realised that my skipper and now Prime Minister Imran Khan knew me by name. So similarly I will be on a hunt for 12 talented players from Pakistan. It is a tough task as there is so much talent in Pakistan but I will try my best.”
Azharuddin wants to unearth talented players who deserve exposure. “I always felt there are many youngsters who are talented but were not lucky enough to play at the highest level,” he said. “This hunt will be for those who were unlucky. I will be very happy if I can find a few because at the end of the day cricket should succeed.”
Vyas said that it will be the first time a league will embark on a mission to spot talent. Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman of the T10 League said: “The appointment of Azharuddin and Akram is a beginning of a new journey for the global T10 cricket movement and we are very excited to make the announcement today. The global talent hunt is designed to unearth the unsung heros from the cricketing world, especially India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who do not get the opportunity to play cricket and the exposure that they deserve.”
Parvez Khan, the T10 league board member as well as the media and marketing head of the event, added: “This programme will help those selected get a job in the UAE and be able to display their cricketing skills at international level. The owners of T10 league are owners of companies like Danube and Pacific Ventures and we will try and find them jobs.”
The second edition of the T10 league will be held from November 23 to to December 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
