ADKR to face Dubai Capitals in blockbuster ILT20 opener

DUBAI: The first edition of the International League T20 is assured to raise the roof of the Dubai International Stadium through a blockbuster opening match between GMR’S Dubai Capitals and Knight Rider Group’s Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) as the League gets underway on Friday Jan.13, 2023.

The much-anticipated schedule sees the competition played from Jan.13 through to the final on Feb. 12.

Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Cricket Stadium’s first game is on Jan.14, a mouth-watering clash between Reliance Group’s MI Emirates and Capri Global’s Sharjah Warriors. The same two teams participate in the opening fixture at the famed Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Jan.17.

Speaking about the ILT20 schedule, Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary, Emirates Cricket Board said, “This is a very exciting time for the league and, collectively, we are delighted to announce the 2023 ILT20 playing schedule.

“To have superstars such as Dubai Capital’s Dasun Shanaka and Abu Dhabi Knight Rider’s Andre Russell open their teams’ accounts is very exciting.

“We cannot wait for the teams to arrive (in early January) and batle it out on the park and provide world-class entertainment to the cricket fans here, in the UAE, and around the globe.

“It is very important for us to launch the first season in an emphatic style, and the league management is very excited to have engaged with globally recognised artists in Badshah and Jason Derulo, both of whom will undoubtedly energise the teams, and the fans leading into the opening match. We are confident that the ILT20 will be a huge success.”

With ten matches scheduled in Abu Dhabi, sixteen in Dubai and eight in Sharjah, the competition will set the Uae-cricketing stage on fire with stars such as Shimron Hetmyer, Moeen Ali, Kieron Pollard, and Wanindu Hasaranga, as well as a number of UAE’S elite playing in a total 34 matches, boasting five-weekend-day doubleheaders, and where the six franchises will play each other twice before the playoffs, culminating in the thrilling final in Dubai on Feb.12, 2023.

Making its debut in January, the inaugural ILT20, which has received multi-year ICC approval, will be played across the UAE’S exemplary, world-class Cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Meanwhile, the Desert Vipers fixtures for the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE have been released – and as far as Director of Cricket Tom Moody is concerned, the news could not be beter, or more exciting.

The Desert Vipers are the last of the six sides in the tournament to get underway, with a match at their home venue, the Dubai International Stadium (DIS), against the Sharjah Warriors on Jan.15, two days ater the opening game.

The side is also the first to complete its matches in the group stage, wrapping up the round-robin phase with an encounter against the Gulf Giants, again at the DIS, on Feb.4.