Eight strong teams to feature in Abu Dhabi T10 league

Dubai - The eight teams which fought fiercely for 2019 honours will return to Zayed Cricket Stadium

Abu Dhabi T10, the world’s only ten-over international cricket event sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), will be back for its fourth season from January 28 to February 6, 2021.

The new season will be staged at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The eight teams which fought fiercely for 2019 honours are all confirmed to return. The sides are: Team Abu Dhabi, Maratha Arabians, Bangla Tigers, Deccan Gladiators, Qalandars, Delhi Bulls, Northern Warriors, and Pune Devils.

The Karnataka Tuskers has rebranded and will be known as Pune Devils this season.

The defending champions Maratha Arabians are co-owned by Parvez Khan, Rajzu Iyer and Anurag Maheshwari, while the 2019 runners up Deccan Gladiators are owned by Gaurav Grover.

Team Abu Dhabi are owned by Abu Dhabi Cricket and governed by Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

Bangladeshi businessmen Yasin Chowdhury and Sirajuddin Alam own the Bangla Tigers, Qalandars are owned by Atif Rana, Sameen Rana, Salim Rafiq Ahmed and Choudry Umer Hussain, R Neelesh Bhatnagar owns the Delhi Bulls franchise.

The 2018 champions Northern Warriors are co-owned by Shabaz Elias, Mohomed Morani, Nader Adam Ali, Zunaid Aziz Moti and Osman Ali Osman and Pune Devils are led by Parag Sanghvi and Krishan Kumar.

Parvez Khan, co-owner of Maratha Arabians, said: “Our team is committed to defending the Abu Dhabi T10 title. We have a fantastic team and I am certain everyone will give their best to bring the trophy home again.”

Shaji Ul Mulk, Founder and Chairman, T10 Sports Management (TSM), said: “We are thrilled that our team owners have decided to return for another season of Abu Dhabi T10. This multi-year commitment illustrates the confidence the team owners have in the fast-paced ten-over format. Our team at TSM, led by our Director for Strategy & Development Haroon Lorgat, have done a spectacular job bringing our partners together and ensuring a cohesive ownership platform to propel us forwards to our best ever event.”

Matt Boucher, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Cricket, said: "The return of all the team ownership groups is fantastic news. The owners are the bedrock of the Abu Dhabi T10; their continued support and commitment to the event provides all our public and private stakeholders in Abu Dhabi with the platform to build a stronger annual product. Our thanks to Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi for their vision to include world-class cricket as a priority delivery within the destination events calendar.”

The fast-action Abu Dhabi T10 ensures a complete cricket match can be played in 90 minutes – the same duration as a football game. Its popularity is underlined by the enthusiastic participation of some of the most bankable names in world cricket.