T10 Cricket League 2018: All you need to know

The second edition of the T10 Cricket League gets underway on Wednesday, and The Cricketer has all the information you need to follow it

What is it?

The T10 Cricket League is a 10-over-a-side franchise tournament based in the UAE.

When is it?

The tournament starts on Wednesday 21 November, with the final taking place on 2 December.

T10? How does that work?

Take the T20 cricket format, and then just cut it in half. Each side bowls 10 overs, with each bowler allowed to bowl a maximum of two overs.

Powerplays are slightly longer proportionately with the first four overs, rather than six in T20, constituting a powerplay in which no more than two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

For any games interrupted by rain, the Duckworth-Lewis method will be used, with the minimum number of overs for each innings being five. In the event of a tie, the two teams will play a super over.

^{Kerala Kings celebrate winning the 2017 T10 Cricket League}

How does the tournament function?

Pay attention because this is quite complicated.

The eight teams playing are separated into two groups of four, and they play each other once during this stage. Simple so far.

In the second phase, they then play three more games against three of the four teams from the other group, depending on where they finished in their original group.

The top four teams at the end of the second phase qualify for the playoffs. The top two play each other in a semi-final, while third and fourth play an eliminator. The winner of the semi-final then plays the loser of the eliminator, while the loser of the semi-final plays the winner of the eliminator. The two teams that win these matches feature in the final.

The schedule for the tournament can be found below:

T10 CRICKET LEAGUE SCHEDULE

Who are the teams?

There are eight teams taking part in the tournament, with three new teams joining from the 2017 tournament, and one leaving.

Bengal Tigers
Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians
Northern Warriors (new team)
Pakhtoons
Punjabi Legends
Rajputs (new team)
Sindhis (new team)

Any big names taking part?

The usual big names found at other domestic franchise leagues played across the world are going to feature in the tournament.

Each team has a designated 'Icon Player' with this group including Eoin Morgan, Rashid Khan, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Shane Watson, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy and Brendon McCullum.

However, there are plenty of big names besides these with Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga and Joffra Archer a couple of names also takingp part.

Arguably more interesting is the crop of relatively obscure cricketers from English county cricket who will be featuring in the tournament. These include Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Tom Moores, Lancashire fast bowler Richard Gleeson, and Somerset allround Roelof van der Merwe.

Full squad lists can be found through the link below:

T10 CRICKET LEAGUE SQUADS

How can I follow it?

The only way to follow the tournament in the UK is if you have Sony Ten 5 / ARY Digital Network subscription (Sky Channel 774).