Kerela Kings bag Shakib al Hasan, Kieron Pollard in the T10 Cricket League auctions

The auctions of the brand new concept of T10 Cricket League finally got underway as the franchises went all out for top players out of the 300 odd cricketers available in the drafts. The auction took place at the Lotus Yacht in Dubai on Sunday.

Kerala Kings, coached by Brian Lara, captained by Eoin Morgan bagged the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Kieron Pollard who have proven to be priceless in T20 franchise cricket. Also, Kerela strengthened their bowling with the services of Sohail Tanveer and Wahab Riaz.

Bengal Tigers, captained by Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and mentored by Waqar Younis, roped in ace spinner Sunil Narine and went ahead with the guile of Mustafizur Rahman. “We are pretty excited about the draft and the side looks well balanced,” claimed Sarfraz Ahmed, according to Sportstarlive. The Tigers also bagged the services of Darren Sammy in their lineup.

Pakhtoons go ahead with Mohammad Irfan

Maratha Arabians, who would be captained by Virender Sehwag, surprisingly picked up Mohammad Sami in their lineup. Wasim Akram, the coach of the Arabians, also picked up Kumar Sangakkara and star Pakistani bowler Mohammad Amir. Their batting lineup would also boast the likes of Lendl Simmons and Alex Hales, along with the all-round option of Imad Wasim.

“Sami has played a lot of matches here (in Sharjah) and we wanted someone who can have a lot of experience but can also deliver. It was a balance. It is the last time, so we wanted to try this out. It is a balance of experience and youth,” commented the spokesperson of Maratha Arabians, Abdul Latif Khan.

Top class cricketers such as Umar Akmal, Chris Jordan, Hassan Ali, Carlos Brathwaite, Luke Ronchi and Adil Rashid would feature in the Punjabi Legends teams led by Shoaib Malik. “This is a historic moment for cricket. We are looking forward to an exciting league,” T10 Cricket League founder Shaji-ul Mulk stated.

Here are captains and top picks:

Maratha Arabians: Virender Sehwag (c) Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan

Bengal Lions: Sarfraz Ahmed(c) Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad

Kerala Kings: Eoin Morgan(c) Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider

Pakhtoons: Shahid Afridi(c) Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider

Punjabi Legends: Shoaib Malik(c) Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah

Team Sri Lanka Cricket: Will be made up of Colombo players who won Island’s domestic limited-overs competition.

Check full teams and squads here