After a successful inaugural season of the International League T20 (ILT20), organisers are now preparing for the second edition. The second edition of the Arabian Tournament will start on January 13, 2024. Ahead of the tournament, all six teams have released their list of retained players, which has sparked buzz on social media.
The inaugural season of ILT20 champions Gulf Giants have tried to retain their core as they have extended the contract with 11 players. Their retention list includes Captain James Vince, White Belt winner Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Shimron Hetmyer, and Carlos Braithwaite. Another finalist, the Desert Vipers, has retained Captain Colin Munro, Green Belt winner Alex Hales, Wanindu Hasranga, Dinesh Chandimal, and Tom Curran, among others.
On the other hand, the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have retained West Indies superstars Andre Russell and Sunil Naraine. Among local players, they have retained Sabir Ali and Ali Khan. MI Emirates has retained West Indies superstars Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Nicholas Pooran. Apart from these, they have also retained players like Fazalhaq Farooqi, Trent Boult, and Zahoor Khan.
Joe Root and Sikander Raza are retained by the Dubai Capitals
Dubai Capitals retained West Indies batter Rovman Powell along with England batter Joe Root and Zimbabwe sensation Sikander Raza. Notably, Powell led the Capitals in the initial games of the previous season. The Capitals have retained UAE fast bowler Raja Akif. Sharjah Warriors have kept England’s all-rounder Chris Woakes and big-hitting batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Their UAE players include pacers Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Jawadullah.
It’s worth noting that there is no restriction on the number of international players retained for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, teams can only retain a maximum of two UAE players ahead of the auction. The team will go to auction with a salary cap of USD 2.5 million, out of which USD 1.5 million is the minimum spending limit.
Here is the full list of retained players for ILT20 season 2:
MI Emirates: Andre Fletcher, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, McKenny Clarke, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Will Smeed, Zahoor Khan
Sharjah Warriors: Chris Woakes, Joe Denly, Junaid Siddique, Mark Deyal, Muhammad Jawadullah, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Ali Khan, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Joe Clarke, Sabir Ali, Sunil Narine, Marchant de Lange, and Matiullah Khan
Desert Vipers: Alex Hales, Ali Naseer, Colin Munro, Dinesh Chandimal, Gus Atkinson, Luke Wood, Matheesha Pathirana, Rohan Mustafa, Sheldon Cottrell, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, and Wanindu Hasaranga
Dubai Capitals: Dushmantha Chameera, Joe Root, Raja Akif, Rovman Powell, and Sikandar Raza
Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Gerhard Erasmus, James Vince, Jamie Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, Sanchit Sharma, and Shimron Hetmyer
