Best playing 11 of Cape Town Samp Army ahead of Zim Afro T10 2023

The first edition of the Zim Afro T10 League will begin on July 20 in Zimbabwe. The opening game will see the Harare Hurricanes take on the Bulawayo Braves at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The Harare Sports Club will be hosting all games on the Zim Afro T10 2023.

The second game of the competition will see the Cape Town Samp Army lock horns against the Durban Qalandars. The Cape Town Samp Army have appointed Lance Klusener as their head coach and have selected Rahmanullah Gurbaz as their icon player. They did a decent job to pick up an experienced squad for the inaugural edition and will be looking to step up and perform as per expectations.

The Cape Town Samp Army will be taking the field on Friday, July 21. Let’s take a look at their best playing 11 for the Zim Afro T10 2023.

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Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hamilton Masakadza

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is Cape Town Samp Army’s icon played and he is an exciting player in the shortest format. The right-handed opening batter from Afghanistan is one of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball and will be hoping to give his side solid starts in the Zim Afro T10 2023.

Alongside Gurbaz will be Hamilton Masakadza who has plenty of experience at the highest level. Having represented Zimbabwe for 18 years, Masakadza is truly a legend of Zimbabwe cricket. He averaged just above 25 in T20Is and can form a solid opening pair with Gurbaz for the Samp Army.

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Middle-order: Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sean Williams, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Stuart Binny

Bhanuka Rajapaksa is expected to bat at three for the Cape Town Samp Army. The southpaw is a dangerous batter once he gets going and the bowlers generally have a hard time bowling against him. He plays spin well and will play a crucial role for the Samp Army in the competition.

Sean Williams had a stellar ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 as he was named Player of the Tournament for his all-around heroics for Zimbabwe. He has tons of experience and will look to carry forward his rich form in the Zim Afro T10 League 2023.

Tadiwanashe Marumani of Zimbabwe is expected to bat at five for the Cape Town Samp Army. The left-handed batter has played 16 T20Is and has scored 170 runs, which includes a highest score of 35. He will look to step up for his side and hold the innings from one end.

Stuart Binny, the Indian all-rounder, will follow Marumani. Binny can hit some lusty blows lower down the order and is handy with his medium pace. He can also extract some swing with the new ball and can open the bowling for his side.

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Bowlers: Chamika Karunaratne, Karim Janat, Maheesh Theekshana, Sheldon Cottrell, Richard Ngarava

Chamika Karunaratne and Karim Janat are the two all-rounders in the side. Karunaratne is expected to join the Samp Army after completing the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 for Sri Lanka A. Karim Janat was phenomenal for Afghanistan in their recent series against Bangladesh and will look to contribute in both departments.

Maheesh Theekshana has proved his worth with the ball in the shortest format. The Lankan spinner always bamboozles with his mystery and will be leading the spin-bowling attack for the Cape Town Samp Army in the Zim Afro T10 2023.

Sheldon Cottrell and Richard Ngarava form an exciting new ball bowling pair. Both have the ability to swing the ball and are very good in the death overs. They can set the tone for the Samp Army early in the innings and will play a key role while defending totals.