Zim Afro T10 announces pre-draft player picks

The five teams that will battle it out for top honours are Harare Hurricanes, Joburg Buffaloes, Durban Qalandars, Bulawayo Braves and Cape Town Samp Army. The inaugural edition will commence on 20 July, with a grand finale scheduled for 29 July. All the games in the tournament will be played in Harare.

Expected to be one of the most riveting tournaments of the year, the Zim Afro T10, organised by Zimbabwe Cricket, in association with T Ten Global Sports, will have the player draft on July 2. Ahead of that, the five franchises involved have announced their pre-draft marquee players. The five teams that will battle it out for top honours are Harare Hurricanes, Joburg Buffaloes, Durban Qalandars, Bulawayo Braves and Cape Town Samp Army. The inaugural edition will commence on 20 July, with a grand finale scheduled for 29 July. All the games in the tournament will be played in Harare.

Squad Composition 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 4 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. Pre-Draft Signings

Harare Hurricanes:1. Eoin Morgan2. Evin Lewis3. Shahnawaz Dahani4. Robin Uthappa Cape Town Samp Army:1. Bhanuka Rajapaksa2. Karim Janat3. Rahmanullah Gurbaz4. Maheesh Theekshana

Durban Qalandars:1.Asif Ali2.Sisanda Magala3.George Linde4.Hazratullah Zazai Joburg Buffaloes:1. Yusuf Pathan2. Mushfiqur Rehman3. Tom Banton4. Noor Ahmed

Bulawayo Braves: 1. Sikander Raza2. Ashton Turner3. Tymal Mills4. Ben McDermott Zimbabwe Cricket's Managing Director Givemore Makoni said, "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."

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 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."(ANI)