Today's Edition
Abu Dhabi (Aletihad)
Abu Dhabi franchise MI Emirates will begin the title defence of their DP World International League Twenty20 (ILT20) trophy on January 11 to kickstart the third season’s campaign. Their first opponents will be Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium in an evening match, which will start at 6pm.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will be the hosts for the second game when they take on Season 1 finalists, Desert Vipers, at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. It will be a double header with Season 1 champions Gulf Giants taking on Sharjah Warriorz in the evening in Dubai.
The first of eight matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will see action beginning with Sharjah Warriorz going up as hosts against Dubai Capitals on January 17 at 6:30pm, six days since the start of the tournament.
Fifteen tournament matches will be played at the Dubai International Stadium while Zayed Cricket Stadium will host 11. The evening games will begin at 6:30pm on weekdays and at 6pm on the weekends. On the double-header weekends, the afternoon games will be played at 2pm.
A total of 34 matches will be staged in the month-long tournament which will conclude with the final in Dubai on February 9. Zee Network has the broadcast rights. All teams will have four players from the UAE, the entire pool of which is yet to be announced.
The six DP World ILT20 franchises have retained T20 superstars like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Alex Hales and Sherfane Rutherford (Desert Vipers), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), Chris Jordan and Shimron Hetmyer (Gulf Giants), Akeal Hossein and Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates), Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes (Sharjah Warriorz) among others.
Making their debuts will be names such as Fakhar Zaman (DV), Shai Hope (DC), Lockie Ferguson (DV), Roston Chase (ADKR), Matthew Wade (SW), Ibrahim Zadran (GG) and Romario Shepherd (MIE) will make their DP World ILT20 debuts in Season 3 and dazzle the crowds. The latest squad list is available here. Additional UAE players will be selected next week.
David White, the league’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The DP World ILT20’s glittering trophy is one of the most sought-after prizes in the cricket calendar and we expect fierce battle between the global superstars who will be giving it their all for their respective franchise.
“In the coming days we would be launching Season 3 match tickets with special offers for both the diehards and fans while encouraging families to come in numbers especially during the weekends at our fan carnivals at the stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.”
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