New York Strikers become eighth team in Abu Dhabi T10

USA’s Skky Strikers announced on Monday that they have acquired a franchise in the Abu Dhabi T10. The new team will be called the New York Strikers.

The addition of the New York Strikers to the tournament makes it an eight-team competition, with two teams joining the bandwagon from the USA.

The Strikers, a successful cricket franchisee in the US, have roped in India's 2011 World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh as team mentor.

The franchise have also brought in Kieron Pollard as their icon player and also signed England’s 2019 ODI World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan as their platinum player. Azam Khan from Pakistan and Ireland’s Paul Stirling are the two Category A players.

The Strikers franchise is owned by Sagar Khanna, who began his entrepreneurial journey in Telecommunications with Skky Group in Hicksville, New York, in 2016.

“It is an extremely exciting time for our franchise as the Abu Dhabi T10 is unique and highly competitive, bringing together elite players from across the globe. It gives us the perfect opportunity to compete against the elites of cricket and test ourselves out," Khanna said.

“We have had some amount of success in the US and we are keen to carry on in that vein over here also. As a franchise, we will do whatever it takes to ensure this is a memorable tournament for our fans and the family overall.”

Shaji-ul-Mulk, Chairman, T10 Sports Management, welcomed the new team to the highly successful tournament.

“I am delighted to welcome on board the New York Strikers team from the US to our Abu Dhabi T10 family. Our aim was to establish the Abu Dhabi T10 as one of the standout events on the international cricket calendar and grow our global broadcast viewership numbers which currently stand at 342 million," Mulk said.

The new season of the Abu Dhabi T10 will kick off on November 23.

The two-week tournament will see international cricket stars compete in a short and exciting 10 over format.