Organisers brimming with excitement ahead of Abu Dhabi T10

Dubai - Eight star-studded teams will vie for glory in the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 (January 28-February 6) at the majestic Zayed Cricket Stadium

With the Abu Dhabi T10 once again attracting some of the biggest names in world cricket, the organisers are brimming with excitement ahead of the fourth season of the popular tournament.

Eight star-studded teams will vie for glory in the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 (January 28-February 6) at the majestic Zayed Cricket Stadium.

After the eight franchises packed their teams with some explosive talent, Shaji Ul Mulk, founder and chairman, Abu Dhabi T10, was delighted to see the return of international superstars.

“The high number of players in the draft shows the popularity of the T10 league. All franchises are well balanced and they have put in a lot of thought while picking the players,” Mulk said.

“It will be absolutely fantastic to see the top international cricket stars coming together at Abu Dhabi T10 for yet another extravaganza of cricket. I wish all the teams and players the very best of luck for the competition.”

All the eight franchises have picked an impressive line-up of players from a pool of 600 international cricketers at a colourful Players’ Draft recently.

The defending champions Maratha Arabians acquired a good combination of experienced and new stars in their team including their Icon Player Shoaib Malik’s compatriot Mohammad Hafeez.

Pravin Tambe, the 48-year-old Indian player, English cricketer Laurie Evans, Bangladeshi players Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, will also defend the colours.

They will be well supported by Ishan Malhotra, Abdul Shakoor and Sompal Kami. The Bangla Tigers, who have Isuru Udana as their Icon Player, will be supported by Andre Fletcher, Tom Moores, Qais Ahmad, Chirag Suri, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Mohammad Irfan, Afif Hossain as well as Adam Hose, Karim Janat, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mahedi Hasan.

With Icon Player Dwayne Bravo, Delhi Bulls’ team includes Mohammad Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera, Sherfane Rutherford, Evin Lewis, Dasun Shanaka, Adam Lyth, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fidel Edwards and Shiraz Ahmed.

“We have got an incredible Icon Player line-up for this season and furthermore the teams have done a great job in packing their teams brilliantly,” said Matt Boucher, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Cricket.

“Bringing world cricket to Abu Dhabi is something that we are targeting to do and we are happy to note that several international stars will be making their way to the UAE for another season of Abu Dhabi T10.

“With all the teams ready and finalised, the excitement is truly ready to begin.”

Group A

Team name: Maratha Arabians

Icon Player: Shoaib Malik

Team: Mohammad Hafeez, Laurie Evans, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pravin Tambe, Ishan Malhotra, Muktar Ali, Amjad Khan, Abdul Shakoor, Maroof Merchant, Sompal Kami, Syed Shah

Team name: Bangla Tigers

Icon Player: Isuru Udana

Team: Andre Fletcher, Tom Moores, Qais Ahmad, Chirag Suri, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Mohammad Irfan, Afif Hossain, Adam Hose, Karim Janat, Aryan Lakra, Fazal Haque, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan

Team Name: Delhi Bulls

Icon Player: Dwayne Bravo

Team: Ali Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera, Sherfane Rutherford, Evin Lewis, Dasun Shanaka, Adam Lyth, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fidel Edwards, Shiraz Ahmed, Kashif Daud, Waqar Salamkheil, Nyeem Young, Amad Butt

Team Name: Northern Warriors

Icon Player: Andre 
Russell

Team: Rayad Emrit, Nicholas Pooran, Lendl Simmons, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Siddique, Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Nuwan Pradeep, Aamer Yamin, Brandon King, Waheed Ahmed, Maheesh Theekshana, Ansh Tandon

Group B

Team Name: Deccan Gladiators

Icon Player: Sunil Narine

Team: Kieron Pollard, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Zahoor Khan, Colin Ingram, Mohammad Shahzad, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Azam Khan, Ravi Rampaul, Prashant Gupta, Zeeshan Zameer, Hamdan Tahir, Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Imran Tahir, Imtiyaz Ahmed

Team Name: Qalandars

Icon Player: Shahid Afridi

Team: Samit Patel, Phil Salt, Chris Jordan, Sultan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Sohail Tanvir, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Sohail Akhtar, Sharjeel Khan, Fayyaz Ahmed, Azmatullah Omarzai, Maaz Khan, Khurshid Anwar, Ben Dunk

Team Name: Team Abu Dhabi

Icon Player: Chris Gayle

Team: Rohan Mustafa, Luke Wright, Avishka Fernando, Hayden Walsh Jr, Chris Morris, Usman Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Obed McCoy, Najibullah Zadran, Ben Cox, Palaniapan Meiyappan, Leonardo Julien, K Malla, Alex Hales

Team Name: Pune Devils

Icon Player: Thisara Pereira

Team: Mohammad Amir, Hardus Viljoen, Chamara Kapugedera, Sam Billings, Ajantha Mendis, Devon Thomas, Darwish Rasooli, Nasir Hossain, Kennar Lewis, Asif Khan, Mohammad Boota, Dinesh Kumar, Vriitya Aravind, Karan KC, Munis Ansari