Knight Riders Group-owned Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Tuesday revealed the first 14 players who will be a part of their squad at the inaugural edition of the UAE’s International League T20. The list includes the likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Jonny Bairstow, and Paul Stirling. A few other emerging names in the shortest format like Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka, USA’s Ali Khan, and the Netherland’s Brandon Glover have also been included in the squad.
The first-ever edition of UAE’s T20 league aka International League T20 is all set to begin next year. The league has allowed the six participating franchises to pick as "direct acquisitions" up to 14 overseas players for their line-ups - with up to nine permitted in the playing XIs. The franchise announced its 14 overseas players through a tweet.
Venky Mysore, the CEO of the Knight Riders Group opened up on the signings and expressed happiness at getting to retain the services of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine who have been a crucial part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. "Firstly it's great to see that our global footprint continues to grow in line with our vision & strategy. KKR in IPL, TKR in CPL and now ADKR in the ILT20,” said Mysore.
“It's also terrific that we have our mainstays - Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as part of ADKR. We are really delighted that Jonny Bairstow joins the Knight Riders family and will no doubt play a huge part in ADKR's journey in ILT20. We are also delighted that Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Ali Khan, Colin Ingram and Seekuge Prasanna, who have been part of TKR before, are also a part of ADKR.”
“A big welcome to Paul Stirling, Charith Ašalanka, Kennar Lewis, Lahiru Kumara, Raymon Reifer and Brandon Glover to the Knight Riders family. The ILT20 promises to be an exciting tournament and we are looking forward to very competitive games and a lot of entertainment"
