World’s top cricketers to be included in UAE T20x draft
Dubai — The newly launched UAE T20x franchise league has been built on the values of player development and international diversity- and today it highlights its commitment to this by revealing a snapshot of the global talent who have made themselves available for the player draft, scheduled to take place in November.
More than 100 players from England & Wales have registered for the player draft including T20 legend Luke Wright and big hitter Alex Hales, along with Ireland’s Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien.
Fans of Caribbean cricket will not be disappointed with the news that Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis and twotime T20 World Cup winning captain Darren Sammy are keen to head to the UAE this winter too.
Joining South African Player Icon David Miller in the draft will be his fellow countrymen JP Duminy, Morne Morkel and right-arm spin bowler Imran Tahir. The African continent will also be represented by former Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor and Sikandar Raza. Names in the mix from New Zealand include limited overs specialist Colin Munro along with Luke Ronchi who animated the PSL earlier in the year and became its 2018 Player of the Tournament.
Huge interest has come from the sub-continent with over 140 players showing their interest in taking one of the 80 spots at this year’s tournament. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mustafizur Rahman will be fan favourites, along with Afghanistan’s Shapoor Zadran and big hitter Shahzad Mohammed.
Zayed Abbas, Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Board Member and Official Spokesperson said: “As an ICC Associate Member, the ECB has put the growth of the sport at its heart, and a key aim of UAE T20x is to provide a platform where emerging talent can develop by playing with and against the biggest names in cricket. It therefore goes without saying that we are delighted to see so many world class players putting themselves forward to be a part of our league and to support our vision.”