Fancy a bit of Gambhir vs Afridi? Turn back the clock with the US Masters T10 League
Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch, Misbah-ul-Haq are among the other headline acts at the inaugural edition of the T10 league, which kicks off on August 18
Abhimanyu Bose
16-Aug-2023
Shahid Afridi is back on the big stage • AFP
The USA continues to make its presence felt on the cricket calendar. The inaugural edition of Major League Cricket was played just last month, India and West Indies stopped by Florida this month, and there's a T20 World Cup on the horizon - the USA, with the West Indies, are co-hosts of the men's 2024 T20 World Cup. In between all this, buckle up for a dose of cricket's shortest format - the US Masters T10 League is set to begin this Friday, and it promises big hits, big names and a big dose of nostalgia, featuring, as it does, some of the most popular names in cricket now retired. Here's everything you need to know about this latest addition to the US cricketing circuit.
Who is putting the tournament together?
The tournament is being organised by T Ten Global Sports and the Samp Army franchise that plays in the Abu Dhabi T10. T Ten Global Sports falls under the umbrella of Mulk Holdings International and is the organiser of Abu Dhabi T10, Zim Afro T10, Indian Masters T10 and Sri Lanka T10.
The tournament is being organised by T Ten Global Sports and the Samp Army franchise that plays in the Abu Dhabi T10. T Ten Global Sports falls under the umbrella of Mulk Holdings International and is the organiser of Abu Dhabi T10, Zim Afro T10, Indian Masters T10 and Sri Lanka T10.
Who will be the star players on show?
There are plenty of exciting names on the roster, including several World-Cup winners. The draft for the inaugural season of the US Masters T10 was held on July 8 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
There are plenty of exciting names on the roster, including several World-Cup winners. The draft for the inaugural season of the US Masters T10 was held on July 8 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The New Jersey Tritons will boast of two players who helped India win the 2011 World Cup in Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. They also have players like RP Singh, Albie Morkel, Liam Plunkett, Jesse Ryder, Craig McMillan and Monty Panesar in their ranks.
Chris Gayle, who opted to play the US Masters T10 over this year's Caribbean Premier League, will star for Morrisville Unity. The team also has Harbhajan Singh, Kevin O'Brien, Parthiv Patel, Corey Anderson and Makhaya Ntini.
Robin Uthappa and David Hussey headline Atlanta Riders' squad, which also comprises the likes of Lendl Simmons, Grant Elliott, and Sreesanth.
Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif will turn out for California Knights along with Australia's 2021 T20 World Cup-winning captain Aaron Finch. South Africa legend Jacques Kallis and Peter Siddle are also on their roster.
New York Warriors will feature former Pakistan stars Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq along with Kamran Akmal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, M Vijay and Munaf Patel.
Mohammad Hafeez is with Texas Chargers, and they also have Ben Dunk, Pragyan Ojha, Fidel Edwards and Praveen Kumar.*
Now I'm excited - when is this tournament and where can I follow it?
The tournament begins on August 18 with the final scheduled for August 27. You can follow live ball-by-ball coverage of the games on ESPNcricinfo. If you're based in India, you can also watch the games on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi, or stream them online on JioCinema.
The tournament begins on August 18 with the final scheduled for August 27. You can follow live ball-by-ball coverage of the games on ESPNcricinfo. If you're based in India, you can also watch the games on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi, or stream them online on JioCinema.
So there are six teams. What is the format?
The six teams will play a round-robin league and the top four teams will make the playoffs. The top two teams will play Qualifier 1 while teams three and four will face off in the Eliminator. The winner of Qualifier 1 will go through to the final and will be joined by the winner of Qualifier 2, which will be contested between the winner of the Eliminator and the team that loses Qualifier 1.
The six teams will play a round-robin league and the top four teams will make the playoffs. The top two teams will play Qualifier 1 while teams three and four will face off in the Eliminator. The winner of Qualifier 1 will go through to the final and will be joined by the winner of Qualifier 2, which will be contested between the winner of the Eliminator and the team that loses Qualifier 1.
The full squads
New Jersey Tritons: Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Liam Plunkett, Albie Morkel, Naman Ojha, Jesse Ryder, Chris Barnwell, Stuart Binny, RP Singh, Bipul Sharma, Craig Mcmillan, Tim Ambrose, Rajesh Bishnoi, Abhimanyu Mithun, Monty PanesarAtlanta Riders: Robin Uthappa, David Hussey, Lendl Simmons, Muhammad Irfan, Dwayne Smith, Farhad Raza, Hammad Azam, Chaturanga de Silva, Elias Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Kamrul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Grant Elliott, Amila Aponso, Hamilton Masakadza, Sreesanth
California Knights: Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Aaron Finch, Peter Siddle, Jacques Kallis, Ricardo Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ben Laughlin, Ashley Nurse, Rusty Theron, Anureet Singh, Pawan Suyal, Devendra Bishoo, Jesal Karia, Sudeep Tyagi
Morrisville Unity: Chris Gayle, Harbhajan Singh, Kevin O'Brien, Parthiv Patel, Corey Anderson, Rahul Sharma, Calvin Savage, Parvinder Awana, Andries Gous, Najaf Shah, Angelo Perera, Dane Piedt, Vikas Tokas, Dilshan Munaweera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Makhaya Ntini
New York Warriors: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Johan Botha, Kamran Akmal, TM Dilshan, Jonathan Carter, Umaid Asif, Sohail Khan, Murali Vijay, Jerome Taylor, William Perkins, Abdur Rehman, Munaf Patel, Cody Chetty, Chamara Kapugedera, Dhammika Prasad
Texas Chargers: Ben Dunk, Mohammad Hafeez, Isuru Udana, Neil Broom, Fidel Edwards, Umar Gul, Upul Tharanga, Pragyan Ojha, Jeevan Mendis, Siddharth Trivedi, Phil Mustard, Noor Ali Zadran, Praveen Kumar, Paul Adams
*Aug 16, 16.15 GMT: Ross Taylor and Thisara Perera were initially included in the Texas Chargers squad, but they will not be part of the tournament.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo