UAE T20 LEAGUE
Narine and Russell were both named in the list. © BCCI
The UAE League have announced the signing of a range of international players, but there are no Pakistanis in the extended list released on Monday August 8. ILT20 organizers said there will also be South Africans. League dates clash with a similarly announced new league in South Africa.
“Some of the biggest names in world T20 cricket from England, West Indies, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland, as well as various nations associated with the ICC, including the United States, Namibia, the Netherlands and Nepal have now signed,” an ILT20 statement said.
The list, curiously, includes Chris Lynn, the former Australian batsman, who has opted to play in the desert, rather than his country’s Big Bash League (BBL), which will also be held around the same time. The likelihood of some Aussies prefer ILT20 over BBL has been feared in the Australian cricket setup lately. The name of David Warner, who was widely reported to be watching the UAE event, is not on the list.
“An astounding list of superstars of the game have signed,” the statement reads and publishes the names which also include Moeen Ali, who appears to be among those contacted by Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Apart from the English versatile player, other notable players are Andre Russell, Dawid Malan, Wanindu Hasiranga, Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis, Colin Munro, Fabien Allen, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Dushmantha Chameera, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein , Chris Jordan, Tom Banton, Sandeep Lamichhane, Chris Lynn, Rovman Powell, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Mujeeb Ul Rahman.
Other players on board are Lahiru Kumara, Seekugge Prassanna, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Paul Stirling, Kennar Lewis, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Isuru Udana, Blessing Muzarabani, Niroshan Dickwella, Hazaratullah Zazai, Frederick Klassen , Sikandar Raja, George Munsey, Dan Lawrence, Dominic Drakes, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, David Wiese, Qais Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, James Vince, Noor Ahmed, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Navin Ul Haq, Sherfane Rutherford, Saqib Mahmood, Ben Duckett, Benny Howell and Ruben Trumpelman.
There is no one from Pakistan. Crcbuzz recently reported that Pakistani players were not among the six franchises’ favorite players.
UAE ILT20 President Khalid Al Zarooni said: “Over the past few weeks, six franchises have entered into discussions and engaged with players and players’ agents to exercise their ‘direct acquisition’ rights. and we are extremely pleased to be able to announce the first batch of players who will be participating in the league.”
Commenting on the squad structure, Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary of Emirates Cricket, said: “It is exciting to see how well the teams are preparing for the first season of ILT20. Each squad will consist of 18 players , including four players from the United Arab Emirates and two players from ICC Associated Countries. The quality of the names announced is exceptional, as is the interest in our league from top players around the world.”
The first edition of the league, which has received multi-year approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC), will be held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in January-February. Reliance Industries, Kolkata Knight Riders, Capri Global, GMR, Lancer Capital and Adani Sportsline purchased the six franchises.
© Cricbuzz