Deccan Gladiators, the latest team in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, made their presence felt in T10 draft by picking six-hitting machine and West Indies ODI and T20 captain Kieron Pollard, England speedster Tymal Mills to beef up their ranks.
Pollard is renowned for his ability to win matches single-handedly while Mills can bowl in excess of 150kph regularly.
Deccan also brought in entertaining Afghanistan wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad, who lit up the T10 League last year by scoring a whirlwind 74 off just 16 balls, and exciting Sri Lankan batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa after he enjoyed great success in a recent series against Pakistan.
Pakistani all-rounder Anwar Ali was picked to add to depth into the side as he joined all-rounders Ben Cutting and Anton Devcich, who both were retained.
The Gladiators ensured they picked top quality spinners as they roped in experienced Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmad and Afghanistan’s young Chinaman bowler Zahir Khan.
England’s young leg-spinner Mason Crane was brought in as third spinner in the squad.
In the UAE category, Deccan opted to pick fast-bowler Zahoor Khan and batsman Asif Khan while in the emerging round young exciting all-rounder Hemraj Chanderpaul was drafted after he enjoyed a good CPL which concluded recently.
Deccan Gladiators owner Gaurav Grover was ecstatic with the dynamic squad at their disposal.
“I am extremely proud of our team selection yesterday. After the addition of the new team members, our squad is now solid and complete. Deccan Gladiators is a powerful team, and we are entering this tournament with an unquenchable thirst for victory that will take us to the final stages. I am confident that their relentless practice and smart gameplay will make Deccan Gladiators the team to watch out for this season.” said Gaurav Grover, the owner of Deccan Gladiators after the exciting auction that got concluded yesterday.
The final squad for Deccan Gladiators is now: Shane Watson (C) – Australia, Ben Cutting – Australia, Anton Devcich – New Zealand, Kieron Pollard – West Indies, Tymal Mills – England, Zahir Khan – Afghanistan, Mohammed Shahzad (WK) – Afghanistan, Fawad Ahmed – Australia, Anwar Ali – Pakistan, Zahoor Khan – UAE, Asif Khan – UAE, Mason Crane – England, Bhanuka Rajapaksa – Sri Lanka, Chandrapaul Hemraj – West Indies
