Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran join Marquee Players List of UAE’s ILT20

Dubai : Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Dasun Shanaka, Ollie Pope and Fazalhaq Farooqi on Thursday were unveiled as new signings in the Marquee Players List of the inaugural edition of ILT20, to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January-February next year.

“Our team continues to be impressed with the quality of talent that has committed to participating in the ILT20. We are very pleased to see the list of Marquee players grow in stature which is evident through our latest reveal, and we are encouraged to see exciting, emerging talent join such experienced names from world cricket,” said Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary of Emirates Cricket.

Earlier, on Monday, Moeen Ali, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Wanindu Hasaranga and Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Andre Russell, Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Fabien Allen, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Dushmantha Chameera, Akeal Hosein, Tom Banton, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rovman Powell and Bhanuka Rajapaksa were named in the first list of marquee players.

Pollard, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, recently became the first cricketer to complete 600 caps in T20 cricket. After playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022, he is currently turning out for London Spirit in The Hundred and has also registered for the draft in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Bravo, who retired from international cricket after last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, has also signed up for the BBL draft to be held later in the year. He has continued to play for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022, represented Worcestershire in Vitality T20 Blast and is currently playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.

Pooran is currently captaining West Indies in white-ball cricket and had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022 alongside Farooqui, the left-arm pacer from Afghanistan. Shanaka is currently Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain while Pope is seen as a mainstay in England’s Test batting order.

Another list of players unveiled by ILT20 includes Will Smeed, Rehan Ahmed, Jordan Thompson, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Bas de Leede, Chris Benjamin, and Bilal Khan.The inaugural edition of ILT20 will be played in a 34-match format across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

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.