Harare, June 26: Ahead of the upcoming Zim Afro T10 player draft on July 2, the five franchises of the league have announced their pre-draft marquee players including Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan and others. The Zim Afro T10, organised by Zimbabwe Cricket, in association with T Ten Global Sports, will see five teams -- Harare Hurricanes, Joburg Buffaloes, Durban Qalandars, Bulawayo Braves and Cape Town Samp Army -- battle it out for top honours. The inaugural edition of the league will commence on July 20, with a grand finale scheduled for July 29. All the games in the tournament will be played in Harare. Sanjay Dutt, Bollywood Actor, Acquires Zim Afro T10 Franchise Harare Hurricane.

Each squad needs to have a minimum of 16 players and at least 6 Zimbabwean players in the squad out of which one Zimbabwean player will be selected from the emerging player category from the nationwide talent hunt.

Ahead of the draft, the franchises can have a maximum of four top internationals as they're pre-signed players. These four would be selected and announced before the start of the draft. The following are the list of the top internationals pre signed by each team.

"We are in the final stages ahead of the Zim Afro T10's inaugural edition. This gives me immense joy, because to see this play out in reality has been a dream for all of the Zimbabwean cricket family, and it is a watershed moment in the history of the sport in the country. The fans, I am sure, are keenly waiting for the opening day,"  said Zimbabwe Cricket's Managing Director, Givemore Makoni.

Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, T Ten Global Sports Founder and Chairman, said, "To bring the T10 to Zimbabwe has been high on the agenda for us in the recent past, and that we are on the home stretch ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament, is a source of great satisfaction for me. This is a red-letter day in the history of the sport, there will be another landmark on the day of the player draft. We can’t wait to get things rolling and welcome the best of the best players to Harare." Zimbabwe Cross 400 Run-Mark for the First Time in ODIs, Register 408/6 Against USA in ICC World Cup 2023 Qualifier.

Pre-Draft Signings:

Harare Hurricanes:  Eoin Morgan, Evin Lewis, Shahnawaz Dahani, Robin Uthappa

Cape Town Samp Army: Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Karim Janat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Maheesh Theekshana

Durban Qalandars: Asif Ali, Sisanda Magala, George Linde, Hazratullah Zazai,

Joburg Buffaloes: Yusuf Pathan, Mushfiqur Rehman, Tom Banton, Noor Ahmed

Bulawayo Braves: Sikander Raza, Ashton Turner, Tymal Mills, Ben McDermott

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2023 06:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).