Shahid Afridi identifies the best format to represent cricket at Olympics

Talking about the prospect of representing the popular Qalandars brand, Afridi said he is excited to play for a franchise which is a huge supporter of cricket back in Pakistan.

The third season of the Abu Dhabi T10 league is set to kick off in November with several stars like Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Eoin Morgan and Shane Watson to be take part in it. Former Pakistan cricketer Afridi will make his debut at the T10 league as he is an icon player and will lead the Qalandars outfit this season. The 44-year-old has hailed the ten-over league, and has said that the format has the potential to take cricket to the Olympic Games.

File image of Shahid Afridi.(Getty Images)

“I think fans love T10 because it is fast-paced and the matches are over in 90 minutes. Cricket should always evolve and look at ways to maintain the excitement among the youngsters, and I think the Abu Dhabi T10 provides us a great opportunity to keep testing the format, and potentially take cricket to the Olympic Games,” said the all-rounder who represented Pakistan in 398 ODIs and 99 T20Is.

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Talking about the prospect of representing the popular Qalandars brand, Afridi said he is excited to play for a franchise which is a huge supporter of cricket back in Pakistan.

“I am really looking forward to playing for the Qalandars in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10. The franchise has also been a part of the PSL, and has been supporting cricket through multiple programmes in the region. Their developmental programme received national recognition earlier this year, and I am delighted to be playing T10 for a new team. I’m really looking forward to seeing them pick a solid side and achieve our ambitions of winning the tournament,” Afridi said.

The third season of the league will take place in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates between November 14 and 24. Afridi reiterated that the Abu Dhabi T10 has become a huge hit among fans of the sport.

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The Pakistani cricketer added that his counterparts are also very excited about the Abu Dhabi T10. “My fellow cricketers are very happy with the T10 format and so are the fans. T20 cricket was not accepted widely early on, but now we have a T20 World Cup being played. So I believe that with time, there will be more participation from established international players in the Abu Dhabi T10,” Afridi signed off.

(with agency inputs)