Sean Williams of Zimbabwe bats during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 cricket match between India and Zimbabwe at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, The league has now spread to Sri Lanka, India, UAE, Holland, USA and now in Zimbabwe. Seen here: Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams in action. Picture: Joel Carrett/EPA
Johannesburg – The Zim Afro T10 League comes to the Southern African region to impact the youth and to inspire higher standards of cricket in the region says founder Shaji UL Mulk.
Since its inception in Sharjah in 2017, the T10 League has grown in leaps and bounds. In its first year, the league returned over one million global viewership and now six years later, the league is estimated to register over 500 million global viewership.
The T10 is a new and unique format that sees 10 overs per innings which is roughly 90 minutes of fast paced ‘cricketainment’. It is a short, high-energy format loved by global audiences and international cricket stars alike.
The league has now spread to Sri Lanka, India, UAE, Holland, USA and now in Zimbabwe.
The man behind the league, Shaji UI Mulk said that the league aims to make a positive impact on the youth of Zimbabwe.
“Sport keeps the youth away from wrong habits and the wrong environments,” said Mulk in an exclusive interview.
“We want to be a company that is known for making a difference to the youth from grassroots and we want to create a pathway for the youth to become successful professional cricketers.
“When we go into a country, we’re not just going to do a tournament. We are doing a whole grassroots programme. Now we’re doing an inter-school competition and a talent hunt for the national side because we want to contribute to Zimbabwe Cricket.
“We are doing a nation-wide talent hunt programme where the top five cricketers from this programme will be contracted with the T10 league. Each team is mandated to take one cricketer from this program,” he added.
The tournament starts on July 20, running until July 29 and will be hosted in Zimbabwe this year.
The goal of the league is to have it in South Africa as well from next year as South African venues were not available in time to feature in this inaugural African edition.
Through unique programmes, Mulk emphasised the league’s appetite to develop Zimbabwe and South Africa in every way possible.
“We will do 20 to 29 July in Zimbabwe for the first year and then next year we will come to South Africa where 50 percent of the games will be played and another 50 percent in Zimbabwe,” said Mulk.
“We have been supporting the Zimbabwe national team as a group and we were the main sponsors for the team in the T20I World Cup, in the India series and now in the World Cup Qualifiers.
“Having said that, you see the Zimbabwe cricket standard itself is on a high. Even now in the qualifiers they are doing very well.
“For us this is about supporting the economy, supporting the cricketing fraternity and making an impact in the national team.
“That’s what we’re planning to do in South Africa as well but this year the tournament will be based in Zimbabwe because the venues were not available this year. Next year we will be bringing the same programs to South Africa.”
The five teams that have been confirmed for the Zim Afro T10 League are the Durban Qalandars, Cape Town Samp Army, Joburg Lions, The Harare Hurricanes and the Bulawayo Braves.
The player draft is set to take place on July 2nd where local players will stand a chance to rub shoulders with the world’s best players and coaches.
The league has been in talks with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to close a deal to televise the league in South Africa and talks have also been had with SuperSport despite there being little to no hope as far as getting SuperSport on board for the first season.
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