Cricket’s top hurricane batsmen to fly in as icons for Abu Dhabi T10 tournament

By K.R. Nayar

Chris Gayle announcing the Gayle storm, Afridi carrying his Boom Boom threat, match-winning and dashing hero Russell, ‘Champion’ Bravo, mystery spinner Narine, ever-green Malik, Perera, who recently became a Major, and the doer of the impossible Udana, are the icons representing the eight teams.

Chris Gayle 

From January 28 to February 6, 2021, all cricket lovers will be able to witness the hardest hitting batsmen in the game once again in action in the UAE. Staring from Chris Gayle, the 'Universe Boss' who ruled over the bowlers during the recent Indian Premier League in the UAE, Shahid Afridi, the legend who won the hearts of every fan and is popularly known as Boom Boom Afridi, West Indies’s most sought after instant cricket’s dashing hero Andre Russell, and many others, they will all be here to unleash their breathtaking strokes during the fourth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament. Gayle, Afridi, and Russell are among the eight icon players of this tournament where hard-hitting cricket is played from the start to finish.

In the third edition of this tournament in 2019, runs were scored through more than 800 boundaries. Gayle, who has hit over 1000 sixes in the T20 format, announced his arrival in his typical flamboyant style, saying: “The shorter the format, the more exciting the game becomes. I can’t wait to play at the Zayed Cricket Stadium again. Watch out Abu Dhabi – a Gayle storm is coming!”

Shahid Afridi 

Among the other icon players are match-winning allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine, the evergreen Shoaib Malik, and Sri Lankan heroes Thisara Perera and Isuru Udana.
Team Abu Dhabi expects its icon Gayle to hit them to the top while Afridi will try to zoom Boom Boom Qalandars to glory. Bravo, who calls himself the 'Champion' following his famous album by the same name, will champion the Delhi Bulls show. Russell will lead the Northern Warriors march while mystery spinner Narine will twirl the Deccan Galdiators’ fight to dominance.

Defending champions Maratha Arabians will need a man who never gets tired in order to defend their title, and hence they were right in naming the untiring Malik as their icon.  Pune Devils will be marched on to the field by their icon Perera who in October 2020 was commissioned as a Major in the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force in the Gajaba Regiment.

Andre Russell 

Bangla Tigers aims to capture their opponents through their icon Udana, who is known to do the impossible. In 2019, Udana broke the world record for the highest individual score (84) batting at number eight in a T20 International match against South Africa.  He also did the impossible of bagging a hat-trick off two legal deliveries while playing for Wayamba in the 2010 Champions league T20 in Port Elizabeth. This left-arm pacer first bowled a wide delivery to get the batsman stumped out and then went on to pick two more wickets tricking the batsman with his successive slower deliveries!

His Excellency Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, who backs the event, is excited at the plethora of stars who are expected to light up the event and feels proud about the city’s growing sporting reputation. “Although we have hosted numerous local and international cricket events in the past, our commitment to host the second season of Abu Dhabi T10 enhances our gold star portfolio of world-class destination sporting events. It builds upon and expands our profile for bringing together the top athletes in world sport and offering elite competition and unparalleled entertainment value.”

The Abu Dhabi T10 is the pioneer of the T10 format in the world and has the sanction of the International Cricket Council and the Emirates Cricket Board. The draft pick of the players will be held on Wednesday, December 23, 2020.