The fourth edition of ICC-approved Abu Dhabi T10 league will be bigger in terms of player participation and global reach via broadcast capabilities as per Shaji Ul Mulk, the league’s owner and chairman. The tournament will take place at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium from January 28th – February 6th, 2021.
Group B of the competition will include team’s from Deccan Gladiators, Qalandars, Team Abu Dhabi and Pune Devils, while Group A will feature team’s from Maratha Arabians, Bangla Tigers, Delhi Bulls and Northern Warriors. The player draft for the league will take place on 23rd December 2020, while all the team’s have announced some of their retained players list from the previous edition in 2019 and few have also announced direct signings of new players to feature in the league.
In terms of broadcast reach, the league will be covered by major networks across the globe, including the likes of Sky Sports (UK), Supersport (South Africa), Sony (India) and Ten Sports (Pakistan).
The league continues to provide opportunity to players based in the United Arab Emirates, with the 2021 edition squads to include minimum two Emirates players, while all playing XI on match-days will feature a minimum of one player on the field. The growing influence of Emirates players in the league has already been on the display with some of the team’s already announcing one UAE national squad member in their retaining list.
Players from UAE, who have put in impressive performances during the domestic T20 tournament have got selected in most of the squads, along with good amount of signings from Afghanistan and also Nepal, who have three players now featuring in the 2021 edition of the league. Team Abu Dhabi have also announced that Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara and Nepal legend Paras Khadka will be mentor’s for their squad, that includes good mix of youngsters.
Abu Dhabi T10 Squads
Team Abu Dhabi: Chris Gayle (Icon), Luke Wright, Rohan Mustafa (UAE), Avishka Fernando, Hayden Walsh Jr, Chris Morris, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Usman Shinwari, Obed McCoy, Ben Cox, Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Karthik Meiyappan (UAE), Leonardo Julien, Kushal Malla (Nepal) and Alex Hales
Maratha Arabians: Shoaib Malik (Icon), Mohammad Hafeez, Laurie Evans, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pravin Tambe, Ishan Malhotra, Sompal Kami (Nepal), Mukhtar Ali, Abdul Shakoor (UAE), Amjad Gul Khan (UAE), Maroof Merchant (UAE) and Syed Shah (UAE)
Bangla Tigers: Isuru Udana (Icon), Dasun Shanaka, Andre Fletcher, Tom Moores, Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan), Chirag Suri (UAE), Johnson Charles, David Weise, Mohammad Irfan, Afif Hossain, Adam Hose, Karim Janat (Afghanistan), Aryan Lakra (UAE), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afghanistan) and Mehedi Hasan
Deccan Gladiators: Sunil Narine (Icon), Kieron Pollard, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Zahoor Khan (UAE), Colin Ingram, Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Azam Khan, Ravi Rampaul, Prashant Gupta, Hafeez ur Rehman (UAE), Zeeshan Zameer, Hamdan Tahir (UAE), Imran Tahir and Imtiyaz Ahamad
Qalandars: Shahid Afridi (Icon), Samit Patel, Phil Salt, Chris Jordan, Sultan Ahmed (UAE), Tom Banton, Sohail Tanveer, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Sohail Akhter, Sharjeel Khan, Fayyaz Ahmed (UAE), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), Maaz Khan and Khurshid Anwar
Delhi Bulls: Dwayne Bravo (Icon), Ali Khan (USA), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Dusmantha Chameera, Sherfane Rutherford, Evin Lewis, Adam Lyth, Dasun Shanaka, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Fidel Edwards, Sheraz Ahmed (UAE), Kashif Daud (UAE), Waqar Salaamkhiel (Afghanistan), Nyeem Young and Ahmed Butt
Northern Warriors: Andre Russell (Icon), Rayad Emrit, Nicholas Pooran, Lendl Simmons, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Siddique, Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Nuwan Pradeep, Brandon King, Amir Yamin, Waheed Ahmed (UAE), Maheesh Theekshana and Ansh Tandon (UAE)
Pune Devils: Thisara Perera (Icon), Mohammad Amir, Hardus Viljoen, Sam Billings, Chamara Kapugedara, Ajantha Mendis, Devon Thomas, Darwish Rasooli (Afghanistan), Nasir Hossain, Kenar Lewis, Asif Khan (UAE), Mohammad Boota (UAE), Dinesh Kumar, Vriitya Aravind (UAE), Karan KC (Nepal) and Munis Ansari (Oman)
