"Best Format To Globalize The Game": Wasim Akram Sums Up T10's Impact

Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram is currently the brand ambassador of National Cricket League (NCL) in the United States of America. In the ongoing “Sixty Strikes” tournament, many big names like Shahid Afridi, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, and others are squaring off against each other. Akram hailed the NCL organisers and called the T10 an important format to popularize cricket in the USA. Akram stated that the pace of the T10 format will keep the fans entertained.

The Sixty Strikers tournament has given fans a rare opportunity to see some retired cricketers rub shoulders with current stars in the T10 format.

“This is the best format if you want to globalize the game, especially in America. So far, this league has got a lot of success and surely this will going to get better. This sport is ready to take on America and it is a big thing for NCL,” Akram said on the sidelines of Sixty Strikes tournament.

“Look, I don’t watch baseball much, but there is no doubt that baseball is a great game but cricket has speed. There’s action on every ball, especially in this format. In baseball, we talk about home run but here, we talk about sixes. It is very exciting and adventurous. I am hopeful that people here will also take interest in this format of cricket as they are missing a lot,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, for New York Lions, Upul Tharanga and Mohammad Hafeez put together a brilliant opening partnership of 74 runs.

Skipper Suresh Raina failed to continue his exemplary form in the match as New York Lions put a total of 125/7 on the board, after batting first. However, Dallas Lonestars did the unthinkable as they chased down the target in the final over, with Sohaib Maqsood and Samit Patel emerging as the top-scoring batters.