The 2023 Zim Afro T10 was the inaugural season of the Zim Afro T10. The tournament was played from 21 to 29 July at the Harare Sports Club. In the final, Durban Qalandars defeated Joburg Buffaloes by eight wickets to win the inaugural title.
Background The league was founded by Shaji Ul Mulk, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi T10 league. The Zimbabwe edition was announced at the final of the 2022 Abu Dhabi T10 with the inaugural edition expected to take place in 2023.
After the tournament Zimbabwe Cricket and Pakistan Super League Lahore Qalandars signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase the exchange of talent between the two countries. The agreement includes eight young Zimbabwean cricketers going to Pakistan for a four-month player development program at the franchise's high-performance center in Lahore, starting on 1 September. The Qalandars will reciprocate by sending five Pakistani fast bowlers – with bowling speeds of 140-plus kilometers per hour – to play domestic cricket in Zimbabwe.
Teams Five teams competed in the first edition of the league: Bulawayo Braves Cape Town Samp Army Durban Qalandars Harare Hurricanes Joburg Buffaloes
Squads Players were chosen in a draft which took place on 3 July 2023. Each team had to select a minimum of 16 players for their squad, including a minimum of six Zimbabweans, including one classified as an "emerging player". As part of the pre-draft, each team selected four players for their squads as marquee players.
A total of 700 players from 23 cricket playing countries participated in the draft. Zimbabwean batsman Sean Williams was the first pick.
+Bulawayo BravesCape Town Samp ArmyDurban QalandarsHarare HurricanesJoburg Buffaloes Sikandar Raza (c) Ashton Turner Tymal Mills Ben McDermott Taskin Ahmed Thisara Perera Beau Webster Patrick Dooley Kobe Herft Ryan Burl Timycen Maruma Joylord Gumbie Innocent Kaia Faraz Akram Ansh Tandon Suresh Raina Parthiv Patel (c) Bhanuka Rajapaksa Karim Janat Maheesh Theekshana Rahmanullah Gurbaz Sean Williams Sheldon Cottrell Chamika Karunaratne Peter Hatzoglou Matthew Breetzke Richard Ngarava Cephas Zhuwao Hamilton Masakadza Tadiwanashe Marumani Tinashe Kamunhukamwe Tom Curran Mohamed Irfan Stuart Binny Mujeeb Ur Rahman Craig Ervine (c) Sisanda Magala George Linde Asif Ali Hazratullah Zazai Mohammad Amir Tim Seifert Hilton Cartwright Mirza Tahir Baig Tayyab Abbas Tendai Chatara Brad Evans Clive Madande Nick Welch Andre Fletcher Muhammad Farooq Daryn Dupavillon Azmatullah Omarzai Eoin Morgan (c) Robin Uthappa Evin Lewis Shahnawaz Dahani Mohammad Nabi Donovan Ferreira Duan Jansen Samit Patel Kevin Koththigoda Christopher Mpofu Regis Chakabva Luke Jongwe Brandon Mavuta Tashinga Musekiwa Irfan Pathan Khalid Shah S. Sreesanth Nanore Burger Mohammad Hafeez (c) Tom Banton Mushfiqur Rahim Yusuf Pathan Noor Ahmad Odean Smith Will Smeed Ravi Bopara Usman Shinwari Delano Potigeter Junior Dala Blessing Muzarabani Wellington Masakadza Wesley Madhevere Victor Nyauchi Milton Shumba Rahul Chopra
Points table
League stage The full fixtures were confirmed on 10 July 2023.
Play-offs The play-offs ran for two days and the top four teams from the league stage advanced.
Statistics +Most runsPlayerTeamRunsHighest scoreRahmanullah GurbazCape Town Swamp Army 28262 not outTim Seifert Durban Qalandars27171 not outHazratullah ZazaiDurban Qalandars27049Robin UthappaHarare Hurricanes25988 not outDonovan FerreiraHarare Hurricanes23387 not out Source ESPNcricinfo
+Most wicketsPlayerTeamWicketsBest bowlingBrad Evans Durban Qalandars144/16Mohammad Hafeez Joburg Buffaloes 126/4Tendai ChataraDurban Qalandars 123/9Taskin AhmedBulwayo Braves 113/11Noor AhmadJoburg Buffaloes102/7 Source: ESPNcricinfo
References
External links Series home at ESPNcricinfo Series home at Cricbuzz