Gulbadin Naib, Shadab Khan, David Willey and Lance Klusener were all asked on Wednesday about a tournament now owned in Abu Dhabi and backed by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. Three welcomed it. One wants to wait and see.
Abu Dhabi, November 12: Four men sat in front of the microphones at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday night. Two had won and two had lost. All of them were asked some version of the same question: what changes now that Abu Dhabi owns its own T10?
Gulbadin Naib did not need time to think. “If the government gets involved in this, it is a good thing for the country,” the Royal Desert Champions all-rounder said. “People in other countries get a good message from it. It is a big step by the UAE government. We have to carry it and take it forward.”
Until this year the Abu Dhabi T10 was a privately run league. In May, Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub took majority ownership and commercial control of it, supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Emirates Cricket Board.
The plan is to run the T10 as a long-term sporting asset for the emirate. This season, from November 7 to 20, is the first under that structure, with six franchises on ten-year licences.
The Sports Council is putting its weight behind something that already travels. An independent GSIQ report put the media value of the 2025 edition at US$512 million, with 687 million social media impressions worldwide. What the new owners want to add is staying power.
David Willey reached for almost the same idea. The Yas Lions bowler plays for one of five franchises making their debut this season, and he began with a disclaimer. “It’s a bit above my pay grade, to be honest,” he said. Then he answered anyway.
“If you see the quality of the players that are here this year, to make this competition a stable and trustworthy one as much as possible, it’s going to be great for the game,” Willey said. “I think it’s fantastic that it’s been taken over, and I’m pleased to be a part of Yas Lions.”
Stable and trustworthy are what a ten-year licence is supposed to deliver. Willey has played in enough leagues to know the difference. “When you play a lot of franchise cricket, sometimes you can feel like you’re on the treadmill a little bit,” he said. “We’re really fortunate to have a great group of people here, and that’s a massive part of my enjoyment.”
Lance Klusener, head coach of Arabian Aces, was asked about the reset and called it “very exciting”. What he liked most was the size of the league.
“Six teams has been really good because it condenses all the talent that’s out there,” Klusener said. “It’s six evenly matched teams, as you guys have seen. There’s no easy games anymore.” The season feels a little longer than in the past, he added, “and that’s fine”.
Shadab Khan was the careful one. The UAE Bulls all-rounder said he did not know enough about ownership models to judge, pointed out that cricket has been played in Abu Dhabi for a long time, and left it there. “This is the first year,” he said. “After this, we will see how things continue.”
Where the four agreed was on what the tournament does for the players who live here. Every playing XI must include at least two UAE cricketers, which puts them in the same dressing room as some of the best known names in the short formats.
“My international career is over, so it’s not doing much for me now,” Willey said. “But for the domestic players, you look at the names on these team sheets. To have an opportunity to play with them, to watch them go about their business and learn from them, I think it’s fantastic.”
Klusener has one of those players in his own side. UAE batter Alishan Sharafu comes in behind Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Andre Russell in the Aces order. “He’s coming up against some wonderful international players that are batting ahead of him,” the coach said. “He’s getting a wonderful opportunity, and I thought he was outstanding again today.”
Gulbadin knows what that kind of exposure is worth. “Cricket is a game of pressure,” he said. “If you look at Afghanistan cricket, look at the help it has had from franchise cricket and the experience we have gained from it.”
He also knows who is watching. “People like it. In Afghanistan they watch it too,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many Afghan players are in a team. Whoever plays well, whoever entertains, they like him.” He would like to see the format go further than Abu Dhabi, and said T10 could one day be played at the Olympics.
Shadab sees a use for it closer to his own game. Two overs of T10 teach a bowler to defend, he said, and that confidence carries into T20s and ODIs.
For the record, Royal Desert Champions beat defending champions UAE Bulls by six wickets on Wednesday, and Yas Lions beat Arabian Aces by 29 runs. The league stage continues on Friday.
Klusener retired before T10 existed. Somebody asked if he would have liked to play it. “It looks like fun,” he said. “Ninety minutes and you go home.”