A host of international stars, including former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi were picked up in the player-draft for the inaugural Global T20 Canada league on Sunday.
Afridi, who was one of the 10 marquee players named ahead of the draft, was picked up by Edmonton Royals where he will be joined by the likes of Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir and Chris Lynn.
Australia’s banned pair of Steve Smith and David Warner were also picked up in the inaugural draft. Also named as a marquee player, Smith will turn out for the Toronto Nationals in the six-team affair.
Warner was picked up by Winnipeg Hawks in the third round where he will be joined by the likes of David Miller and Dwayne Bravo.
Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was another eye-catching name to sign up for the league with the 17-year-old slated to turn out for Montreal Tigers.
Here is the completed team listing for Edmonton Royals. #GT20Draft #GT20Canada #SixesInTheSix @canadiancricket pic.twitter.com/REv60e069l
— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) June 3, 2018
Apart from the mentioned names, the likes of Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga and Mohammad Hafeez too were picked up in the player-draft. Top coaches like Australia’s Tom Moody and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis have also been confirmed for the event with the former taking charge at Montreal Tigers while the latter will manage the Winnipeg Hawks franchise.
The month-long competition is slated to get underway on June 28 with all the matches taking place at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in Toronto. While drafts for five teams were held on Sunday, a sixth team comprising entirely of Caribbean players will also be added to the roster.
Each team will need to include four Canadian players, including an U23 player.
SQUADS
Edmonton Royals
Coach: Mohammad Akram
Shahid Afridi, Chris Lynn, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Christiaan Jonker, Wayne Parnell, Asif Ali, Hasan Khan, Agha Salman, Shaiman Anwar, Ammar Khalid, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Ahmed Raza, Simon Pervez, Abraash Khan.
Montreal Tigers
Coach: Tom Moody
Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Hafeez, Denesh Ramdin, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sikandar Raza, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, George Worker, Najibullah Zadran, Cecil Pervez, Ibrahim Khaleel, Dillon Heyliger, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyan Pathan.
Toronto Nationals
Coach: Phil Simmons
Darren Sammy, Steve Smith, Kieron Pollard, Kamran Akmal, Hussain Talat, Rumman Raees, Nikhil Dutta, Johnson Charles, Kesrick Williams, Naved Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Farhan Malik, Nitish Kumar, Usama Mir, Rohan Mustafa, Mohammad Umair Ghani.
Vancouver Knights
Coach: Donovan Miller
Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis, Tim Southee, Chadwick Walton, Fawad Ahmed, Babar Hayat, Sheldon Cottrell, Saad Bin Zafar, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Srimantha Wijeratne, Kamau Leverock, Steven Jacobs, Salman Nazar, Rassie van der Dussen, Jeremy Gordon.
Winnipeg Hawks
Coach: Waqar Younis
Dwayne Bravo, David Miller, David Warner, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Ben McDermott, Ali Khan, Hamza Tariq, Junaid Siddiqui, Tion Webster, Rizwan Cheema, Hiral Patel, Mark Deyal, Kyle Phillip.