There were three Dream11 T10 tournaments in Trinidad in 2022, but no red ball competition. However, Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president Azim Bassarath said the main reason for facilitating these competitions was to give players an opportunity to return to the field after two years of inactivity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Coming out of Covid, players were crying for cricket,” Bassarath told Express recently.
“We had the opportunity to provide an opportunity for as many players as possible to play cricket and get them on the park and that’s what mattered to us,” he added.
The T10 tournament featured six teams with 14-man rosters each. Many of the teams featured U-23 players and even some U-19 talent, as well as some names who are well-known in the local cricket circuit.
The first prize in each edition of the T10 was $100,000 with a second purse of $50,000.
Fides Ltd Scarlet Ibis Scorchers won the third edition of the tournament earlier this month, while Blue Devils won the second edition held in June and Steelpan Players (formerly Steelpan Strikers) were the inaugural champions in March.
“We wanted the players to play as much cricket as possible. In terms of development, I’m not sure how much will happen in the T10 format, but what we wanted to focus on coming out of the pandemic was to provide cricket opportunities for cricketers to play and that’s what they they shouted. because,” said Bassarath.
The players showed skill
While adverse weather hampered the third edition of the tournament, Bassarath maintained that it was still a success with a high standard of cricket being played, providing opportunities for players to showcase their skills.
“We had some challenges with the weather, but in the last week of the tournament, we had great weather and we had a high standard of cricket in the T10 tournament, even though it was a short format,” said Bassarath.
“There was some very exciting cricket played and we saw some outstanding pitches which sometimes people don’t take into account. But there were some very outstanding things on the field and that was very encouraging to see and it’s good to know that cricketers are now putting a lot of emphasis on their field,” he continued.
“Overall, the tournament was a tremendous success. The crowd that was there was very happy and the players themselves were very happy with the amount of cricket they were getting the chance to play.
“Talking to some of the players, they are even asking for more tournaments like this…more T10s and more T20s and we are also looking at a 50-over tournament with a franchise system,” added Bassarath.
Bassarath also noted that a press conference is being planned for later this month, where he will reveal the TTCB’s plans for 2023.
