Sikander Raza Among the Top Picks at the Player Draft as Franchises Assemble Dynamic Squads for Zim Afro T10 Season 2

The most exciting format in cricket is about to arrive in Harare, and in the lead-up, the six franchises selected very competitive but well-rounded teams for Season 2 of Zim Afro T10 during the Player Draft. Zim Afro T10's second season is slated to premiere on September 21 and end with a grand finale in Harare on September 29.

Big stars like Chris Lynn, Sikander Raza, Dawid Malan, Colin Munro, Carlos Brathwaite, and David Warner are among those set to dazzle the audience at the Harare Sports Club. However, the players from Zimbabwe will also be in the spotlight because they have been playing some amazing cricket lately. 

For the Zim Afro T10 Player Draft, which had 12 rounds of player drafting in all, over 400 players had signed up. There were 64 players selected that day among the six teams; the Bulawayo Braves Jaguars selected 12 players in all to comprise their squad of 16.

Pre-draft signings for the Cape Town Samp Army included Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan), Adam Rossington (England), Haider Ali (Pakistan: Global Superstar), David Willey (England: Icon), Dawid Malan (England), Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan), and Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan). To complete their roster, they selected Tadiwanashe Marumani (Zimbabwe), Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe), Tawanda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Leonardo Julien (West Indies), Rohan Mustafa (Pakistan), Salman Irshad (Pakistan), Michael Frost (Zimbabwe), Brian Chari (Zimbabwe), and Sineth Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) at the Player Draft.

As their direct signings, the Durban Wolves have identified Colin Munro (Global Superstar, New Zealand), Mark Chapman (Icon, New Zealand), Will Smeed (England), Sharjeel Khan (Pakistan), Muhammad Irfan (Pakistan), and Yasir Shah (Pakistan). added Muhammad Waseem (Pakistan), Gary Balance (Zimbabwe), Tinotenda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Donald Tiripano (Zimbabwe), Innocent Kaia (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Bawa (Zimbabwe), Mbeki Joseph (West Indies), and Raveen De Silve (Sri Lanka) to their team, further strengthening it.

Prior to the draft, Chris Lynn (Australia: Global Superstar), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Luke Wood (England), and Karim Janat (Afghanistan) were selected by the Jo'Burg Bangla Tigers. George Linde (South Africa), Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Sikader Raza (Zimbabwe), Tendai Chatara (Zimbabwe), Antum Naqvi (Zimbabwe), Tashinga Musekiwa (Zimbabwe), Johnathan Campbell (Zimbabwe), Tinashe Muchawaya (Zimbabwe), Kimani Melius (West Indies), and Kevin Koththigoda (Sri Lanka) were among the players the Tigers added to their roster during the Player Draft.

Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe: Global Superstar), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Akhilesh Bogudum (USA), and Oshane Thomas (West Indies) were already signed when the NYS Lagos team arrived at the draft. They continued by adding people like Joshua Bishop (West Indies), Kaveesh Sathsara (Sri Lanka), Nyasha Mayavo (Zimbabwe), Newman Nyamhuri (Zimbabwe), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe), Clive Madande (Zimbabwe), Dion Myers (Zimbabwe), Romario Roach (Zimbabwe), and Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka). 

Prior to the player draft, the Bulawayo Braves Jaguars created quite a stir when they signed David Warner (Australia: Icon), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Nick Hobson (Australia), and Kobe Herft (Australia). The Jaguars selected Laurie Evans (England), Sabir Ali (India), Akila Dhananjaya (Sri Lanka), Anamul Haque Bijoy (Bangladesh), Richard Ngarava (Zimbabwe), Brad Evans (Zimbabwe), Wellington Masakadza (Zimbabwe), Wessly Madhevere (Zimbabwe), Panashe Taruvinga (Zimbabwe), Victor Chirwa (Zimbabwe), Kirk McKenzie (West Indies), and Vishas Thewmika (Sri Lanka) were the players chosen at their turn.

Playing in their own backyard, the Harare Bolts have also put together a formidable team, with players selected ahead of the draft including Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka: Global Superstar), James Neesham (New Zealand: Icon), George Munsey (Scotland), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Shehan Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), and Kennar Lewis (West Indies). Richard Gleeson (England), Junaid Siddique (Canada), Lahiru Milantha (Sri Lanka), Sean Williams (Zimbabwe), Faraz Akram (Zimbabwe), Brandon Mavuta (Zimbabwe), Luke Jongwe (Zimbabwe), Alex Falao (Zimbabwe), Arinshto Vezha (Zimbabwe), Michael Palmer (West Indies), and Janishka Perera (Sri Lanka) were among the Bolts' additions at the final Player Draft.

"There is a lot of excitement ahead of Season 2 of Zim Afro T10 as the most entertaining players are set to rewrite the record books in Harare," stated Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Founder and Chairman of T Ten Global Sports. Each squad has a solid balance of youth and strength, and they are all fiercely competitive. May the top squad emerge victorious in this exciting competition for the players!