After announcing Shahid Afridi as tournament Ambassador in July, the inaugural Qatar T10 is set to get underway this Saturday when the Pearl Gladiators take on the Flying Oryx.

From Sunday the event will then see two matches per day for the next week as the six franchises complete a single round robin, before moving into playoffs. The final will be held on December 18.

Afridi will reportedly be one of 36 overseas signings, a third of whom will be from Associate members. Players already announced on social media include Pakistan’s Abdul Razaq, Zimbabwe’s Chris Mpofu & Prince Masvaure, and Oman’s Mehran Khan.

Shahid Afridi is brand ambassador of QPL T10 League. Posted by QPL T10 League on Monday, 7 October 2019 Shahid Afridi was announced as the event’s ambassador.

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Overseas players are due to be assigned to teams during a draft to be held in the next few days.

Besides the teams playing in Saturday’s opener, the other competing franchises are the Falcon Hunters, Desert Riders, Heat Stormers and Swift Gallopers.

72 local players have already been drafted and were announced last week.

In a press release Mr. Youssef J Al Kuwari, president QCA, said that “Qatar is proud to have been assigned this league by ICC. This will take our country to an international sports arena.”

All Qatar T10 matches will be played at the 13,500 capacity Asian Town International Cricket Stadium. The venue has previously been earmarked to host a number of major events including the inaugural Pakistan Super League before a deal was reached to play the tournament in UAE in 2016.

The Qatar Cricket Association has partnered with a Doha-based agency, International Pro Events to facilitate the league.

Mohammad Rizlan of Qatar plays a shot during the recent CWC Challenge League A in Malaysia

Round Schedule

DAY/DATE 6.30PM 9.00PM SAT 7/12 PEARL GLADIATORS VS FLYING ORYX (8.30pm) SUN 8/12 DESERT RIDERS VS SWIFT GALLOPERS FALCON HUNTERS VS HEAT STORMERS MON 9/12 FALCON HUNTERS VS SWIFT GALLOPERS FLYING ORYX VS DESERT RIDERS TUE 10/12 PEARL GLADIATORS VS DESERT RIDERS

FLYING ORYX VS HEAT STORMERS WED 11/12 FALCON HUNTERS VS DESERT RIDERS SWIFT GALLOPERS VS HEAT STORMERS THU 12/12 FALCON HUNTERS VS FLYING ORYX PEARL GLADIATORS VS SWIFT GALLOPERS FRI 13/12 DESERT RIDERS VS HEAT STORMERS* FALCON HUNTERS VS PEARL GLADIATORS* SAT 14/12 PEARL GLADIATORS VS HEAT STORMERS* FLYING ORYX VS SWIFT GALLOPERS*

*Times to be confirmed