Thursday 20 / February / 2025
MUSCAT: They are cricketing legends who entertained the world by their batting and bowling skills for years. Names like Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Ross Taylor draw awe and respect from fans and cricketers across the globe.
Rubbing shoulders with these legends or even spending some time off the ground is certainly a dream for many cricketers. Oman’s Sufyan Mehmood, the national team all-rounder, may get a chance to rub shoulders with these greats after the Renaissance CT player was picked by New York Warriors as one of the first reserves for the forthcoming inaugural edition of the US Masters T10 League.
The US Masters T10 will be played from August 17-27 and will feature six franchises - Atlanta Fire, California Knights, Morrisville Unity, New Jersey Legends, New York Warriors, and Texas Chargers.
Confirming his participation, a delighted Sufyan, who has been part of Oman T20 World Cup squads on both occasions (2016 and 2021), said: “It is a great opportunity for me to be part of the US Masters T10. It is never late to learn and with such great maestros of the game present, it will definitely be a great learning curve.”
Sufyan is a reserve member of New York Warriors, a squad that has Pakistani greats like Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, former Indian stars Murali Vijay and Munaf Patel besides international stars like Kamran Akmal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jerome Taylor, Chamara Kapugedera, and Johan Botha.
The other members of the squad are Sohail Khan, Williams Perkins, Abdur Rehman, Cody Chetty and Dhammika Prasad.
The T Ten Global Sports, organisers of the Abu Dhabi T10 and US-based SAMP Army Cricket Franchise are organising the inaugural season in Dallas, Texas.
The thrilling 10-over format matches will have legendary cricketers who have retired from the international format but also as well as young stars who will begin their careers in the sport.
To embed the sport of cricket within the audience of America, other US sporting stars have joined by buying ownership within teams with NBA superstar Spencer Dinwiddie joining the Morrisville Unity and Kayvon Thibodeaux of the NY Giants NFL team joining the NY Warriors.
Sufyan, who bowls right arm medium pace and is a left-handed batter, has been a regular face at international T20 franchise cricket, having participated since 2017-18 season.
His first break came after Oman made history by qualifying for the 2016 T20 World Cup. Soon after, International Cricketers Association (ICA) promoted him and got him his first break in 2016 to play charity games in United Kingdom where he played alongside former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and England’s Simon Jones.
Only Omani
The only Omani to be part of Oman’s T20 World Cups, Sufyan has not looked back when it comes to playing the shortest formats in different countries, with his tidy bowling and strokeplay.
He has been part of different franchise cricket in Nepal, Singapore, Qatar and USA in the past and was picked in the draft of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL).
An effective D10 player, Sufyan has led Renaissance in the domestic league and last played for Oman in the Desert T20 series before injuring his knee in December.
Strenuous rehab
A strenuous rehab has made him fully fit and the all-rounder, who has been doing well in D10 format, is looking forward to the US Masters T10. The injury meant that Sufyan was out of action for past six months but having now fully recovered the 31-year-old is hoping to make a return to Oman team for future T20 tournaments.
Sufyan, who departs for the USA next week, thanked Oman Cricket and Renaissance CT management for all their support and said, “Without the backing of Oman Cricket and Renaissance, it would not have been possible for my participation in overseas franchise cricket over the past few years.”
