Abu Dhabi T10 league 2021: 3 Indian cricketers who are a part of the tournament

The T20 format was introduced to bring a mix into orthodox cricket. As most of the cricket fans were not able to find some time to sit and cheer their team, the ICC brought the twenty-over format into the equation. The very first T20 World Cup was a huge hit. The players adapted to the format nicely and every underdog had its change. 

The competition was so high that even Zimbabwe defeated the 50 overs World Cup champion Australia during the tournament. India, being a young and inexperienced team went on to win the tournament under the leadership of MS Dhoni. This paved the way for a few changes in the ODI squad too. A new era was born because of a new format!

The very next year, IPL was introduced by the BCCI. With eight franchises representing eighty cities, there was a fierce competition going on for approximately two months. Every team could clinch the trophy at any stage. Years passed, generation passed, by then developed a void in T20 tournaments as the fans could not witness the participation of Indian players at foreign T20 leagues. 

Therefore another concept T10 was introduced, here the fans could witness Indians participating in this league and making a name for themselves.

Here are the three Indians who would be participating in the T10 league:

3. Ishan Malhotra- Maratha Arabians

The Maratha Arabians will be looking to clinch this year’s T10 trophy. With multiple big names in their arsenal, their team looks complete with the presence of intelligent players. In the batting section, Laurie Evans will handle the batting, Sohaib Malik will control the middle order, and the bowling department will be lead by Pravin Tambe. This year, the Arabians are the strong contenders for the trophy. 

If we look at their line up, a name that has warmed the IPL benches is Ishan Malhotra. Ishan was a member of the Deccan Chargers squad in the Indian Premier League. Unfortunately, for Ishan, Sehwag had destroyed his debut, smashing 23 runs off his six deliveries in an IPL match in 2011. A poor debut with better performers warning the bench meant that he never received an opportunity to redeem himself. 

Being 36 years old, he has got an opportunity after a long time. He was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad during the 2010 IPL season. Apart from that, he participated in the Indian Cricket League, which was later scrapped. It will be interesting to see how Ishan manages to perform in the 2021 T10 league. 

2. Prashant Gupta- Deccan Gladiators

The Deccan Gladiators are the strongest team on paper till now. Talking about the team, their squad boats the inclusion of stars like Wanindu Hasaranga, Colin Ingram, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard. If these names are not enough to impress the viewers, there are more international T20 superstars like Imran Tahir and Mohammad Shahzad. It will be interesting to see their performance during this edition of the T10 league.

As we look for Indian names, Prashant Gupta is an Indian in the squad. The 32-year-old has played over 21 first-class matches and has the highest score of 144. If we look at his T20 career, he has a decent record. In the 37 T20 matches he has played, he has scored 1111 runs with the highest score of 102*. A strike rate of 121.15 makes him a favorite to make it to the playing eleven which is already full of stars. 

The franchise had brought him last year. However, he was not included in the playing eleven in any of the games. As he was released, he was re-signed by the franchise. So, there might be someplace in that line up for Gupta. Therefore Prashant Gupta makes it to this list of 3 Indians who will play in the T10 league in 2021.

1. Pravin Tambe- Maratha Arabians

Pravin Tambe made it to the headlines of national newspapers when he made his IPL debut at the age of 41 for the Rajasthan Royals. Before joining the Royals, he had not played any sort of first-class cricket but he was a well-known figure in the club cricket circuit. After his debut in the IPL, Tambe went on to become the leading wicket-taker in the Champions League T20 that year. 

These performances allowed him to gain the attention of the selections as a call from the Mumbai Ranji team was on the cards. During the 2014 IPL season, Tambe took a brilliant hat-trick against the eventual champions the Kolkata Knight Riders and this made him the triumph card in the RR bowling lineup. In the 33 IPL matches he has played, he has takes 28 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 7.75. Apart from that, his best bowling figures read 4/20!

In 2020, Tambe became the first Indian cricketer to play in the Caribbean Premier League. Later on, in the T10 format, he took a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul. The leggie represented the Sindhis in the 2018 edition, where he picked eight wickets in four matches. During the 2019 season, the Northern Warriors had signed him and now, he will represent the Maratha Arabians. It will be interesting to see how Tambe breaks the age barrier and performs in this edition of the T10 league.