Abu Dhabi T10: Salt peppers confidence in title bid by Team Abu Dhabi

Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)



Team Abu Dhabi will be looking for "a consistent" campaign when the eighth season of the Abu Dhabi T10 gets under way on Thursday afternoon at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in the Emirate.


That will be easier said than done for the side with the hosts tag, who have struggled in recent stagings and not yet made it to the final since joining the former eight-team league. The level of competition, with a smattering of international star names, has also increased with the addition of two more teams this year.


The captains of all teams spoke in brief about the tournament and their expectations. Team Abu Dhabi captain Phil Salt told Aletihad the side had no reason to be alarmed with the recent past showing them to "reach the play-offs but losing momentum" in those crunch moments.


That is a sweet way of looking at it from a leader with a positive mindset. Yet the facts remain that Team Abu Dhabi could not make it to the play-offs last season while Salt is the third man to lead the team in three seasons counting back. The year before that, the team made it to the play-offs but many senior players opted out, putting in a weak bid by a second-string side to try for third place in vain.


Salt said: "It's my first season with the team in the role of skipper and I will try to lead the team in the best way possible, that yields us positive results. All players are bonding well and also giving their all in the training sessions, reflecting the commitment towards our collective goal and the enthusiasm to make it happen."


With 10 teams now on display in world cricket's shortest, yet exciting format, fans in Abu Dhabi and the UAE can expect plenty of fireworks and slam-bang style of play while teams try to wrest the trophy from holders New York Strikers. Like every year the league has hit the refresh mode along with the teams vis-a-vis their rosters even as the Abu Dhabi T10 serves as a primer for all cricketers wishing to compete in international leagues.


For instance, Michael Pepper is a rising name for England who will be under the wings of his compatriot and the established Salt, who has played in all foreign leagues.


At the other end of the spectrum are Mohammed Nabi, the former Afghanistan captain who recently retired from one-day format to focus on franchise cricket just when his compatriot Rahmanullah Gurbaz accepts the additional role of being a skipper with wicket-keeping and opening. Both Afghans are incidentally captaining the two new teams, UP Nawabs and Ajman Bolts, respectively.

Then there are cases of Abu Dhabi T10 serving as a stepping stone or a tool for revival of some careers. Pakistan's Mohammad Amir said he was happily retired when he took a hat-trick last season in an exclusive to Aletihad. However, a strong showing in the tournament and just a phone call from the then chief selector of Pakistan, Mohammed Hafeez, was all it took for him to reverse his stand.


For Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka, the Chennai Braves Jaguars captain will use the experience before heading back home where the next T10 league is mushrooming. Incidentally, the team has rebranded from being The Chennai Braves, hoping Jaguars in their title will give them a leap bigger than others all the way to the title. The tournament will be broadcast on Abu Dhabi Sports in the region.