Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE's premier franchise cricket tournament, the International League Twenty20 (ILT20), is becoming more inclusive in nature as it tries to play a bigger role in the development of cricket among Associate member nations of the International Cricket Council.
The ILT20 has sent out a communication to the six franchises of the ILT20, seen by Aletihad, as it approaches the fifth season with changes to the contracting model or squad composition, signalling a more balanced approach.
Being the second richest league after the Indian Premier League means that the ILT20 has the world's top players assembled at grounds in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, while four UAE players get a chance to be in the squad and two mandatory are in the playing 11.
The past season that got changed to accommodate two more players from Gulf nations Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with one on the field in each match.
To add more inclusivity in the squad of a minimum of 21 players, the new rules now have been updated to mandate three players from Afghanistan and one from Ireland as well. Both countries were Associate nations of the ICC and are now on the fringes of the top tier full-member countries.
Incidentally, both countries are planning to have their own franchise leagues - a development the ICC has expresed concern about at its executive meeting on Sunday.
Afghanistan have a five-year "destination support agreement" with the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Hub until 2029, earmarking the Zayed Cricket Stadium as host for all training camps, Afghanistan A and national age-group matches.
Afghan cricketers have become popular and a few call Sharjah or Ajman their second home. Even without the rule, each squad has already included them, including captains Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, as well as Gulbadin Naib and others.
Plans to hold the Afghanistan Premier League were announced last winter in Dubai. Meanwhile, Ireland is organising the European T20 League along with Scotland and the Netherlands for August-September this year.
A look at the latest ICC's world T20 rankings gives an idea of what the ILT20 with the support of Emirates Cricket Board is trying to achieve. Afghanistan sit just outside of the top 10, followed by Ireland (12), The Netherlands (14), Scotland (15) and the UAE in 18th.
When the player auction is held by the ILT20, the franchises will have the latest guideline to plan for. The most relevant clause in the document says: "The playing 11 must include at least 2 UAE players, at least 2 Afghanistan players and at least 1 further Associate player. The additional Associate player may come from the UAE, a GCC nation or any other Associate nation."
