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Prior to the start of Zim Afro T10’s second season, the six franchises selected incredibly potent yet well-rounded teams in the Player Draft. Zim Afro T10’s second season is slated to premiere in Harare on September 21 and end with a grand finale on September 29. Big stars like Chris Lynn, Sikander Raza, Dawid Malan, Colin Munro, Carlos Brathwaite, and David Warner are among those set to dazzle the audience at the Harare Sports Club.
For the Zim Afro T10 Player Draft, which had 12 rounds of player draughting in all, over 400 players had signed up. There were 64 players selected that day among the six teams; the Bulawayo Braves Jaguars selected 12 players in all to comprise their squad of 16.
The Cape Town Samp Army had picked Haider Ali (Pakistan: Global Superstar), David Willey (England: Icon), Dawid Malan (England), Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan), Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan), Adam Rossington (England), Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan), as their pre-draft signings. At the Player Draft, they picked Rohan Mustafa (Pakistan), Salman Irshad (Pakistan), Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe), Tadiwanashe Marumani (Zimbabwe), Ben Curran (Zimbabwe), Michael Frost (Zimbabwe), Brian Chari (Zimbabwe), Tawanda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Leonardo Julien (West Indies) and Sineth Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) to complete their squad.
The Durban Wolves had named Colin Munro (New Zealand: Global Superstar), Mark Chapman (New Zealand: Icon), Will Smeed (England), Sharjeel Khan (Pakistan), Muhammad Irfan (Pakistan), Yasir Shah (Pakistan) as their direct signings. And further bolstered their squad by adding Mohammad Rohid Khan (UAE), Muhammad Waseem (Pakistan), Regis Chakabava (Zimbabwe), Gary Balance (Zimbabwe), Tinotenda Maposa (Zimbabwe), Donald Tiripano (Zimbabwe), Innocent Kaia (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Bawa (Zimbabwe), Mbeki Joseph (West Indies) and Raveen De Silve (Sri Lanka).
The Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers had picked Chris Lynn (Australia: Global Superstar), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Luke Wood (England), Karim Janat (Afghanistan) ahead of the draft.
The Tigers added more firepower to their squad at the Player Draft as they roped in George Linde (South Africa), Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Sikader Raza (Zimbabwe), Tendai Chatara (Zimbabwe), Antum Naqvi (Zimbabwe), Tashinga Musekiwa (Zimbabwe), Johnathan Campbell (Zimbabwe), Tinashe Muchawaya (Zimbabwe), Kimani Melius (West Indies) and Kevin Koththigoda (Sri Lanka).
The NYS Lagos side came to the draft with the signings of Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe: Global Superstar), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Akhilesh Bogudum (USA), Oshane Thomas (West Indies) already in the bag. They went onto add the likes of Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka), Matiullah Khan (UAE), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe), Clive Madande (Zimbabwe), Dion Myers (Zimbabwe), Romario Roach (Zimbabwe), Nyasha Mayavo (Zimbabwe), Newman Nyamhuri (Zimbabwe), Joshua Bishop (West Indies) and Kaveesh Sathsara (Sri Lanka).
The Bulawayo Braves Jaguars made quite the splash ahead of the player draft with the signings of David Warner (Australia: Icon), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Nick Hobson (Australia), Kobe Herft (Australia). When their turn came around, the Jaguars picked Laurie Evans (England), Sabir Ali (India), Akila Dhananjaya (Sri Lanka), Anamul Haque Bijoy (Bangladesh) Richard Ngarava (Zimbabwe), Brad Evans (Zimbabwe), Wellington Masakadza (Zimbabwe), Wessly Madhevere (Zimbabwe), Panashe Taruvinga (Zimbabwe), Victor Chirwa (Zimbabwe), Kirk McKenzie (West Indies) and Vishas Thewmika (Sri Lanka).
The Harare Bolts, who will be playing in their own backyard, have also assembled a strong squad, with the likes of Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka: Global Superstar), James Neesham (New Zealand: Icon), George Munsey (Scotland), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Shehan Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Kennar Lewis (West Indies) being picked ahead of the draft.