Stars and stripes at T10 League: Team-by-team guide ahead of Season 2 of Sharjah tournament

Check out Paul Radley's list of teams, including coaches, stars, players to watch out for and UAE involvement

Chris Gayle will be the player to watch out for when he pads up for Kerala Knights in the T10 League. Satish Kumar for The National

What: T10 League

When: Action starts on Wednesday, November 21. The final is on Sunday, December 2

Where: Starts at Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Who: Two groups, with four teams in each group

Group A

Kerala Knights

Last year: champions

Coach: Daniel Vettori

UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor

Talisman: Paul Stirling – Destructive opener who was the outstanding player in the first T10 last year

Watch out for: Chris Gayle – Debuting in the T10, having excelled in the Afghanistan Premier League last month

Shahid Afridi will be the Pakhtoons' talisman in Season 2 of the T10 League. Agency

Pakhtoons

Last year: semi-finals

Coach: Dean Jones

UAE players: Hafeez Kaleem, Sher Walli

Talisman: Shahid Afridi – Launched the league in 2017 with a hat-trick with the first three balls he bowled in it

Watch out for: RP Singh – Hopefully he shows up better than an ageing Virender Sehwag did last year, as one of the new arrivals from India

Shane Watson will swap his Chennai Super Kings shirt for that of the Sindhis while in the UAE. AFP

Sindhis

New team

Coach: Tom Moody

UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber

Talisman: Shane Watson – New to T10, but he was man of the match in this year's Indian Premier League final

Watch out for: Jofra Archer – The bright young thing of English cricket bowls with pace and bats well down the order

Rohan Mustafa will be seen in action for the Rajputs in the T10 League this year. Satish Kumar for The National

Rajputs

New team

Coach: Herschelle Gibbs

UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed

Talisman: Mohammed Shahzad – Typically spellbinding in the APL last month, on the same tracks the T10 will be played on

Watch out for: Oshane Thomas – The young West Indian will form a lightning fast attack with Tymal Mills

Group B

Maratha Arabians assistant coach Dougie Brown, left, with leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Satish Kumar for The National

Maratha Arabians

Last year: semi-finals

Coaches: Wasim Akram, Dougie Brown

UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat

Talisman: Alex Hales – The big-hitting England opener found his range straight away last year

Watch out for: Rashid Khan – If anyone is going to get the hang of T10 quick, you'd think the No 1 ranked T20 bowler in the world might

Luke Ronchi is no stranger to the T10 League after his success last year. Pawan Singh / The National

Punjabi Legends

Last year: Runners-up

Coach: Mushtaq Ahmed

UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh

Talisman: Luke Ronchi – Well versed in performing in Sharjah, with T10, APL and Pakistan Super League excellence to draw on

Watch out for: Praveen Kumar – One of the small group of Indians involved, it will be intriguing to see how his seamers fare

India fast bowler Zaheer Khan is hte most accomplished star to play in the T10 League. AFP

Bengal Tigers

Last year: Group stage

Coach: Stephen Fleming

UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman

Talisman: Morne Morkel – Now internationally retired, but coming off a remarkable season in English county cricket

Watch out for: Zaheer Khan – The biggest name Indian involved in the T10, with 311 Test wickets to his name

Rovman Powell of the West Indies is considered a big hitter of the cricket ball. ICC

Northern Warriors

New team

Coach: Robin Singh

UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia

Talisman: Daren Sammy – The captain will form a formidable leadership team with Robin Singh, who coached Kerala to the title last year

Watch out for: Rovman Powell – Literally, watch out. A brutal hitter who is in the habit of smashing windows