Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag will visit the UAE later this year after being named brand ambassador for the inaugural Ten Premier League.

The 37-year-old batsman, who retired from the game last year, will hand over the prizes including the winning trophy to the eventual champion on December 2 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

With gully cricket widely popular in India, tournament organiser Abdul Latif Khan is excited to bring the format to the UAE and insists roping in Sehwag is a big plus.

“The format of the game is huge in India and we want to bring this to an international level,” said Khan. “By bringing someone from India as a brand ambassador in promoting the game was key and having Virender Sehwag is a perfect choice as he is one of the world’s most famous cricketers.”

The event, to start from November 29, has already attracted interest from within the UAE and abroad, with teams from Qatar, India, Kuwait already confirming their participation for the tournament, that will be played with a hard tennis ball.

Twenty teams will battle it out for the top honours with a total of Dh250,000 in prize money up for grabs.

“The Ten Premier League is going to be an exciting tournament and we want to give it some exposure in the UAE as international teams contest for the title. There will be approximately 500 players in action with 47 games played throughout the tournament.”

He added: “Registration for teams is still open until September 15 and we invite interested teams to come and join us.”

For more information, email Arif Khan on a.khan@10pl.net.