Dubai, Nov. 6 (TNS): Mohammed Amir was the first pick as the Ten10 Cricket League (TCL) had its inaugural international player draft on Sunday night, Arab media reported.
Some of the game’s leading players will head to the UAE for the first tournament in the 10-over format next month.
Amir, the left-arm pace bowler from Pakistan, led an all-star cast as he was the first name selected at the event on board Lotus Yacht in Dubai Marina.
He was signed by Maratha Arabians, a side who have former India star Virender Sehwag as their captain and Pakistan great Wasim Akram as a team mentor.
The Arabians followed Amir’s recruitment by selecting the likes of Imad Wasim, Alex Hales and Kumar Sangakkara.
The task of knitting together that eclectic set of characters will fall on Dougie Brown, the UAE national team coach, who will fulfill a similar role with the Arabians over the four-day course of the competition.
Brown had been recruited by the franchise when a separate draft was held for UAE players on Saturday night.
Within 24 hours, he was on the yacht, sharing his thoughts with the team’s owners, as well as Wasim Akram, as to who the team should pick.
“It is a different experience for me, and I have not been in this sort of environment before,” Brown said.
“It has been very interesting sitting down with the guys, working out how we will go about our selections. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.
“I know a lot of, not just the English players, but of the overseas players who have played in the UK in recent years. It has been nice to be asked for my opinion, and for people to listen to that.”
The previous evening, in the separate draft for UAE-based players, nine national team regulars had landed deals.
Shareef Asadullah, a seam bowler who has been absent from the side for some years, was also plucked from the obscurity of domestic cricket to play for Punjabi Legends.
