SPORTS
Jonathan Ramnansingh
The stage is set for the second edition of the Dream XI Trinidad T10 Blast, which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, next Wednesday.
The six competing teams are defending champions Fine Choice Steelpan Strikers, Fides Ltd Scarlet Ibis Scorchers, Soca Kings, Valini’s Drug Mart Leatherback Giants, Scorpion/Titans Blue Devils and Tiger Tanks Cocorite Cavaliers.
They were finalized at the official player draft at the National Cricket Centre, Couva on Tuesday.
The captains of each franchise, who were selected last week, along with their respective team managers selected 13 players each from a pool of 197 local cricketers.
Of these, 12 players (two for each team) made up the pool of players.
After winning the first player pick in the draft, Fine Choice Steelpan Strikers captain Imran Khan and his support staff picked Jyd Goolie as their top pick. Their second was Jeremy Solozano.
Other marquee selections were Mark Deyal, Yannic Cariah (Leatherback Giants); Jesse Bootan, Bryan Charles (Cocrico Cavaliers); Khary Pierre, Keagan Simmons (Scarlet Ibis Scorchers); Isaiah Rajah, Kirstan Kalicharan (Soca Kings); and Shannon Gabriel, Uthman Muhammad (Blue Devils).
Charles, Cariah and Solozano, however, will miss the first two rounds of the competition, having been selected in a West Indies president’s XI. They return on June 13 and will be available to play the following day.
In the meantime, Suruj Seepaul (Cavaliers), Matthew Patrick (Giants) and Kiedel Glasgow (Steelpan Strikers) will be their respective replacements.
Khan, the title-winning captain of the first edition of the tournament, said his team hopes to retain the coveted crown, although the new draft system did not allow teams to retain players from the previous phase.
“It’s always good to defend a title. It wouldn’t be easy but it’s just about playing good cricket. The team looks good, so once we prepare well, we would have a good chance to retain the crown.
While admitting that there were: “Many changes (in the team) due to the new draft system. So we didn’t get some of the players back that we wanted,” he said. “We planned well and were still able to get some important players that we think can help us go all the way.”
The winning team wins $100,000. The runners-up earn $50,000 and the third-place team earns $20,000.
All matches take place in the southern stadium. From June 8-24, two matches are played each day with the opening match from midday and the second from 2.30pm.
Additionally, TT Cricket Board president Azim Bassarath said the first Trinidad T10 Blast sponsored by Dream XI was a resounding success earlier this year and led to the second edition.
He also signaled that the sponsors were very pleased and that a third edition is in the works later in the year, in October. Bassarath also welcomed the opportunity to provide another platform for cricket to be played after the Covid19 restrictions were lifted in January.
“We lost two years due to the pandemic and although T10 is the shortest format of the game, it is very popular with cricketers and fans and provides great entertainment,” said Bassarath.
Dream XI Trinidad T10 Blast Teams
FRIENDS’ SELECTION STRIKE – Imran Khan (captain), Jyd Goolie, Jeremy Solozano, Lendl Simmons, Teshawn Castro, Marlon Richards, Adrian Ali, Rivaldo Ramlogan, Ahkeel Mollon, Philton Williams, Kyle Ramdoo, Jarlarnie Babel Shales, Qzan Seales, Kiedel Glasgow
SOCA KINGS – Jason Mohammed (captain), Isaiah Rajah, Kirstan Kallicharan, Jon-Russ Jagessar, Leonardo Julien, Sion Hackett, Ricky Jaipaul, Shiva Sankar, James Duncan, Mbeki Joseph, Chadeon Raymond, Rajeev Ramnack, Kavesh Mantasing,
VALINI’S DRUG MART LEATHERBACK GIANTS – Terrance Hinds (captain), Mark Deyal, Yannic Cariah, Kjorn Ottley, Crystian Thurton, Joshua James, Jahron Alfred, Saiba Battoosingh, Andrew Rambaran, Keon Isaac, Jabari Dei, Jabarine, Mills. , Matthew Patrick
TIGER TANKS COCRICO CAVALIERS – Denesh Ramdin (capt), Jesse Bootan, Bryan Charles, Amir Jangoo, Strassark Sankar, Akeil Cooper, Shaaron Lewis, Rakesh Maharaj, Ramesh Brijlal, Barry Bhandoo, Akeem Alvarez, Adrian Cooper, Stephawn. Suruj Seepaul
FIDES LTD SCARLET IBIS SCORCHERS – Tion Webster (captain), Khary Pierre, Keagan Simmons, Kamil Pooran, Dexter Sweene, Joshua Ramdoo, Akil Mitchell, Anderson Mahase, Kieshawn Dillon, Anthony Alexander, Randy Mahase, Alibocashrih, Camilio Carrih
SCORPION/TITANS BLUE DEVILS – Rayad Emrit (captain), Shannon Gabriel, Uthman Muhammad, Christopher Vincent, Vikash Mohan, Nicholas Sookdeosingh, Vishan Jagessar, Dejourn Charles, Mario Belcon, Aaron Alfred, Navin Bidaisem Daise,
