MI Emirates, the sister franchise of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, on Friday announced Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Trent Boult as their four signings.Apart from the above four mentioned signings, MI Emirates have also signed Andre Fletcher, Imran Tahir, Samit Patel, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Bradley Wheal and Bas De Leede.
Each team in the ILT20 will consist of 18 players, including four UAE players and two other players from ICC Associate countries.The players signed by MI Emirates are as per the league guidelines.The franchise added that the local players from UAE will be added to the squad, which will be based in Abu Dhabi, in the near future.
"I am delighted with our dynamic group of 14 players that will be part of our #Onefamily and represent 'MI Emirates'. We are glad to have one of our key pillars, Kieron Pollard continue with MI Emirates. Joining us back are Dwayne Bravo, Trent Boult, and Nicholas Pooran.
"A very warm welcome to all players of MI Emirates. MI is known to strike a balance between experience and investing in young talent to unlock their true potential which will help us play the MI way. This is what fans expect from us and will drive the MI ethos forward," said Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio.
The inaugural edition of ILT20 will be played in a 34-match format across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, starting from January 2023. The six teams in the league are owned by Reliance Industries Limited (franchise name as MI Emirates), Lancer Capital, the GMR Group (franchise name as Dubai Capitals), Adani Sportsline (franchise name as Gulf Giants), Knight Riders Group (franchise name as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) and Capri Global.
Earlier on Thursday, MI Cape Town, also owned by Mumbai Indians owners in the upcoming CSA T20 League, announced that they had signed up Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Dewald Brevis ahead of the player auction. The league will be in direct clash with the time period of UAE's ILT20.