The cricket festival is all set to hit the United Arab Emirates in just six days' time as the DP World International League T20 will kick off on January 13 at the Dubai International Stadium.
The power hitter Andre Russell, the wily leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, the dashing Dwayne Bravo, the seasoned Robin Uthappa, the fearsome striker Chris Lynn, and the experienced Moeen Ali are in readiness to mesmerise the cricket fans during the month-long competition.
A total of six franchises which include Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors will be battling it out, to lift the magnificent competition trophy, from January 13 to February 12 across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
And all six franchises have now finalised their squads for one of the most exciting cricket leagues in the world.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders squad includes Sunil Narine (captain), Andre Russell, Connor Esterhuizen, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Paul Stirling, Zawar Fareed, Kennar Lewis, Sabir Ali, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Fahad Nawaz, Mathi Ulla, Dananjaya De Silva, Marchant De Lange and Traveen Mathew.
While the Desert Vipers squad includes Wanindu Hasaranga, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Colin Munro (captain), Tymal Mills, Matheesh Pathirana, Sherfane Rutherford, Rohan Mustafa, Shiraz Ahmed, Sheldon Cottrell, Ali Naseer, Adam Lyth, Dinesh Chandimal, Benny Howell, Mark Watt, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ronak Panoly, Jake Lintott and Gus Atkinson.
Meanwhile, Rovman Powell (captain), Dasun Shanaka, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Rahman, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Sikandar Raza, Hazratullah Zazai, Chirag Suri, Daniel Lawrence, Jash Gianyani, Niroshan Dickwella, Fred Klaassen, George Munsey, Hazrat Khan, Raja Akif Ullah Khan, Joe Root, Robin Uthappa, Ravi Bopara, Yusuf Pathan and Ollie White are part of the Dubai Capitals set-up.
Gulf Giants includes Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, James Vince (captain), Chris Lynn, Dominic Drakes, Jamie Overton, Liam Andrew Dawson, Ollie Pope, Ashwant Valthapa, CP Rizwan, Sanchit Sharma, Ayan Khan, Qais Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, David Wiese, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Tom Helm and Gerhard Erasmus.
Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard (captain), Trent Boult, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nicholas Pooran, Imran Tahir, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Zahir Khan Pakten, Muhammad Waseem, Samit Patel, Zahoor Khan, Bradley Wheal, Bas de Leede, Andre Fletcher, Najibullah Zadran, Vriitya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Craig Overton, Tom Lamonby, Lorcan Tucker, Daniel Mouseley and McKenny Clarke form MI Emirates squad.
While the Sharjah Warriors' squad includes Moeen Ali (captain), Evin Lewis, Chris Woakes, Mohammed Nabi, Dawid Malan, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Benjamin, Joe Denly, Rahmanullah Gurbaaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Karthik Meiyyappan, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid, Muhammad Junaid, Noor Ahmed, Khan Bilal, Mark Deyal, Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Jawad Ullah and Jamal Todd.
Dubai Capitals will take on Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in what is anticipated to be a mouth-watering opening match, launching the inaugural edition of the DP World ILT20, following a glitzy opening ceremony which will see superstar Badshah and megastar Jason Derulo wow the fans at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, 13 January 2023.
The league will be played in a 34-match format across the UAE's exemplary, world-class cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.