Giants crowned champs on the back of Lynn, Brathwaite efforts

Naveen-ul-Haq took the first five-wicket haul in the ILT20 as he and Chris Woakes bowled Sharjah Warriors to victory against table-toppers Gulf Giants.

Warriors, who lost their first three matches of the season, have now won two on the trot, while Giants tasted defeat for the first time this season.

Put in to bat, Giants lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early, but Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who scored a magnificent century in their last match, counter-attacked before falling in the last over of the powerplay.

Joe Denly then held up one end, even as Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali departed at the other. Denly put on a 40-run stand with Mohammad Nabi (20 off 16) before reaching his half-century.

His 58 off 43 helped Warriors post a total of 151 for 7, but it was still very much chaseable for a side that had a perfect record in the tournament so far.

But Woakes and Naveen stunned them early on, as Rehan Ahmed and James Vince fell prey to the fast-bowling duo in the first two overs. UAE quick Junaid Siddique also chipped in, and the Giants were reeling at 27 for 5 at the end of the powerplay.

Naveen struck again in the eighth over before David Wiese and Chris Lynn put on a 41-run stand to try and revive the Giants.

After Lynn fell to Noor Ahmad, Chris Jordan joined Wiese at the crease and the two upped the tempo. But Naveen returned to have Wiese hole out to long-off to all but seal the win for his team. Then, bowling the final over in which the Giants needed 34, he conceded back-to-back sixes off Jordan before dismissing him and Richard Gleeson off the next two deliveries to complete the win and his five-wicket haul.

Only one of MI Emirates' top four managed a strike rate of a run a ball. And that too barely. Then Kieron Pollard came in and hammered 86 off 38. In the end, they lost a chase of 223 by 16 runs and there was the feeling of what could have been.

Rovman Powell (97 off 41) and Joe Root (82 off 54) starred for Dubai Capitals with stunning knocks. The duo went all guns blazing, stitching together a match-winning 119-run partnership from just 59 deliveries. Put in to bat, Capitals openers Robin Uthappa and Root laid a strong foundation by notching up 59 runs in the powerplay en route to their 78-run first-wicket stand. Uthappa fell to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the ninth over for a 23-ball 26. From there on, Emirates' bowlers were taken to the cleaners, with Root hitting eight fours and three sixes in his 54-ball knock and Powell smashing four fours and ten sixes in his 41-ball assault.

The stand was broken when Root was dismissed in the penultimate over. Powell didn't stop there, taking Pollard for 19 runs in the final over to take Capitals to 222.

In reply, Emirates lost three wickets early on, with Hazrat Luqman picking up two in one over when he sent Will Smeed and Nicholas Pooran back to the dugout. However, Pollard's arrival shifted momentum for Emirates. His 38-ball innings consisted of eight fours and six sixes. He also shared 118 runs for 60 balls with Andre Fletcher (35 not out) before losing his wicket to Powell in the 16th over.

Najibullah Zadran then punished Chamika Karunaratne for four sixes and a four in the 18th over to bring down the equation to 41 off 12 before being dismissed next over to Fred Klaassen for a nine-ball 30. Samit Patel, at No. 7, scored an unbeaten 18 off six deliveries, but it wasn't enough.

Gulf Giants were 30 for 3 when Shimron Hetmyer joined Chris Lynn. Chasing 196 against Desert Vipers, the odds were stacked against them. But Lynn smacked 71, Hetmyer blazed to 70, and courtesy some finishing touches from David Wiese and Liam Dawson, the Giants cruised to a five-wicket victory, keeping their 100% win record in the ILT20 tournament intact.

The Vipers had posed an imposing 195 for 4 in the first innings - on the back of Alex Hales' 99 - and when Giants lost Tom Banton, James Vince and Rehan Ahmed quickly in the chase, the result seemed to be going their way. However, Lynn and Hetmyer added 117 runs in a fourth-wicket partnership, in only 9.2 overs, to change the game around. This was the first defeat for Vipers in the tournament despite Hales making it four 50+ scores in four games.

Hales had started the day as the majority contributor in a 72-run opening stand for Vipers alongside Rohan Mustafa. When Mustafa was out for 23, stumped off Dawson, Vipers kept the left-right combination going with Colin Munro playing a small hand after which Sherfane Rutherford joined Hales. Hales hit 10 fours and five sixes in his 57-ball 99, but fell in the 17th over - caught at deep extra cover - while trying to hit Chris Jordan. Despite some late hits from Rutherford, Hales' wicket slowed proceedings down, and Vipers could not breach 200.

The English trio of Banton, Vince and Rehan had scored only eight runs between them before being dismissed by the Vipers bowlers when Lynn and Hetmyer began the recovery job. Together they hit 13 fours and eight sixes, especially brutal on Wanindu Hasaranga, Benny Howell and Mustafa.

They helped the Giants seize the advantage so much, that even though both batters fell in the space of 17 balls, there was enough in the Giants tank - in the form of Wiese and Dawson - to complete the turnaround win.

Andre Russell failed to defend 20 in the final over as Najibullah Zadran helped MI Emirates over the line in a see-saw contest. Najibullah smacked an unbeaten 35 in 17 balls to continue MI Emirates’ three-match winning streak, leaving Abu Dhabi Knight Riders still winless after five games.

All eyes were on Najibullah’s partner, Kieron Pollard, when he came to the crease with Emirates needing 78 off 40. After two quiet overs, Pollard clobbered full balls for two fours, but it was Najibullah being dropped by Brandon King - leaking six runs in the process - that started a special turnaround.

Captain Sunil Narine saved himself for the 19th over with 29 needed, and got his opposite number off the first ball. But Najibullah smacked the fifth for a six, leaving Russell with 20 to defend. The final over saw a six and a four by Bravo and two sixes by Najibullah to complete a turnaround win.

Andre Fletcher, with his 43-ball 53, had anchored the innings earlier with Nicholas Pooran after Akeal Hosein and Lahiru Kumara dented the chase with early strikes. In the ten overs that followed the powerplay, Emirates were restricted to 65 for 2.

Earlier in the day, Charith Asalanka anchored Knight Riders’ innings despite wickets falling at the other end. Trent Boult and Fazalhaq Farooqi combined to take 2 for 50 in their eight overs. Zahoor Khan also chipped in with two wickets. Narine’s cameo at the death took Knight Riders to a respectable 170, which seemed enough for most of the game, until Russell’s plan of going wide was met with sparkling strokeplay that sealed the deal for Emirates.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore tore into Dubai Capitals' bowling, as he bashed an unbeaten 106 off only 47 balls in a successful chase of 178. The total was hunted down with 32 balls to spare, taking Sharjah Warriors off the mark after three consecutive losses to start the tournament.

The tone of Warriors' innings was set in the second over, at the end of which they had piled up 24. And what followed was carnage: three back-to-back fours off Isuru Udana next over, before Mujeeb ur Rahman was thrashed for 29 in the final over of the powerplay. In the process, Kohler-Cadmore had reached his half-century from 19 deliveries, shooting up Warriors to 95 after six overs.

Capitals' fate was all but sealed, with Kohler-Cadmore getting to his century on his 46th ball, finishing with ten fours and six sixes to show the way in a commanding win.

However, 177 didn't seem to be a below-par total on a batting-friendly pitch, where Joe Root struck 80 not out after opening the innings for Capitals. He firmly held one end up after they were 15 for 2 in the third over, adding 82 off 59 balls with Dan Lawrence. After only 22 had come off the first four overs, they took Naveen-ul-Haq for 17 to pick up some pace. But they mostly kept ticking over, even as Root produced the reverse scoop for six.

The last ten overs produced 107, with captain Rovman Powell pumping 44 from 27 deliveries before falling in the final over. Root had faced 54 balls for his knock, which seemed to have given Capitals more than enough to play with, only for Kohler-Cadmore's century to wipe it out with ease.

A whirlwind 59-ball 110 from Alex Hales, backed up by Sheldon Cottrell 's miserly 3 for 14, helped Desert Vipers down Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 111 runs, the largest victory in terms of runs thus far, in Abu Dhabi. Andre Russell's power-packed 57 proved insufficient as Knight Riders were consigned to a fourth-straight loss while Vipers claimed a third-straight win and moved to pole position on the points table.

Sent in to bat, Vipers opener Rohan Mustafa came out swinging, smoking Russell for two fours in the opening over. The quick, however, had the last laugh, holing him out to extra cover. That was the only source of joy for Knight Riders for a while as Colin Munro and Hales, in particular, lay into the bowlers.

The duo added 164 runs for the second wicket off just 95 balls, comfortably the highest stand of the tournament thus far. While Munro struggled to get going for a major part of his innings, Hales found his bearings from the get-go. In all, the Englishman smoked seven fours and six sixes during his knock. He was run out off the last ball of the innings, but not before becoming the leading run-scorer of the tournament, overtaking James Vince.

Munro played and missed a lot, but stuck around, hitting four fours and two sixes during his 41-ball 56. Sherfane Rutherford (23 off 7) and Tom Curran (16* off 8) too played important cameos to take Vipers to the highest total of the tournament, so far.

In reply, Knight Riders were blown away inside the powerplay, losing four wickets for just 18 runs. Cottrell sent back Brandon King and Kennar Lewis quickly. Gus Atkinson saw the back of Colin Ingram before Charith Asalanka was caught short courtesy a stunning direct hit from Wanindu Hasaranga.

It was then Hasaranga's turn to strike with the ball as Knight Riders were reduced to 54 for 7 after ten overs. Russell wound back the clock and brought up his fifty off just 25 balls but ran out of partners. Vipers only needed 15.1 overs to end Knight Riders' misery.

Three matches, three half-centuries for James Vince and three wins for Gulf Giants.

The ILT20 table-toppers continued their perfect start to the season with a resounding 101-run win over Dubai Capitals. Vince’s 76 off 48 deliveries helped them post 181 after being put in to bat before their bowlers decimated the Capitals, skittling them out for the lowest total in the competition so far.

Vince started slow, with pinch-hitter Rehan Ahmed doing the heavy-hitting early before he spooned a catch to mid-off in the third over.

Vince and Chris Lynn then added 82 runs for the second wicket to put the Giants in a strong position. Lynn was more of a spectator though, as Vince raced to his third consecutive half-century in the tournament.

He took special liking to Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fabian Allen, with seven of his eight boundaries coming off the two spinners.

Dubai Capitals then pulled things back with four wickets in four overs, including Akif Raja’s dismissals of Vince and David Wiese off consecutive deliveries.

But Shimron Hetmyer and Liam Dawson added 54 runs off the next five overs to take Giants to a strong position. While Hetmyer was unbeaten on 37 off 19, Dawson made 18 off 13, getting out to the penultimate delivery of the match. Chris Jordan smashed a six off the last ball to take Giants past 180.

The top order had given good starts in the last two games for Capitals, but their top run-getter Robin Uthappa edged behind off Richard Gleeson in the first over and that was a sign of things to come.

While Joe Root tried to keep them ticking, Wiese trapped Chirag Suri lbw and then took a brilliant return catch to send opposition captain Rovman Powell packing in the fifth over.

Rehan castled Root in the over after the powerplay and their slide continued when Yusuf Pathan chipped a simple catch to cover to give Wiese his third wicket.

Dasun Shanaka began a counterattack, hitting Rehan for three boundaries, but was out to Sanchit Sharma the over after that. Jordan then knocked over Allen’s stumps and then also castled Chamika Karunaratne and Raja in his next over to wrap up the win with 33 deliveries remaining.

Wanindu Hasaranga applied the brakes just when Abu Dhabi Knight Riders had gained good momentum, triggering a collapse of 5 for 30 and restricting them to 133. Hasaranga grabbed 3 for 18 - his wickets included those of Charith Asalanka and Andre Russell off back-to-back balls in the 14th over - before Alex Hales followed his 83 not out against Sharjah Warriors with another half-century to carry Desert Vipers home.

Brandon King's 57 was the only solid contribution in Knight Riders' line-up. Colin Ingram and Asalanka fell after adding 39 and 49 with King, respectively. King and Asalanka picked up 15 off Benny Howell's 12th over before Knight Riders lost track on a slow pitch where the ball turned and also kept low at times.

Vipers' chase got off to an attacking start, with Hales and Rohan Mustafa pumping 36 - including six fours and a six - off the first three overs. Akeal Hosein got Mustafa for 23 off 11 balls in the next over, while Russell dismissed Colin Munro in the fifth. But Hales and Billings added 74 in quick time to ensure Vipers chipped away comfortably at their target of 134.

Hales reached his half-century from 36 deliveries to end the 12th over, and he then deposited Lahiru Kumara for two boundaries in the 14th. Knight Riders captain Sunil Narine dismissed him for 64, but by then, Vipers needed only 17 off the remaining 34 balls. Billings ended unbeaten on 35, as Sherfane Rutherford launched a six to seal the win and keep Knight Riders winless.

MI Emirates eased to a six-wicket win over Sharjah Warriors. It leaves the Warriors winless in the ILT20 so far, while Emirates retain their 100 percent win record.

The win was set up by the bowlers, with Dwayne Bravo and Imran Tahir taking five wickets between them. Trent Boult got rid of Rahmanullah Gurbaz early after he had got off to a flying start. Tom Kohler-Cadmore was the highest scorer for the Warriors, scoring a 41-ball 55 as wickets fell around him. No one between Nos. 4 and 7 managed to make it to double-figures, while Bravo and Tahir’s combined figures of 8-0-42-5 gutted the Warriors innings. It was only a late cameo from Paul Walter (28* off 18) that saw them to 146.

Emirates started off at pace thanks to Will Smeed, who’s 17-ball 29 put his side well ahead of the asking rate. But once Junaid Siddique got rid of him, the Warriors managed to rein the batters in. Run scoring became more attritional, and by the half way mark, Emirates had just 70 on the board.

However, with wickets in hand, the asking rate was always kept under check. Muhammad Waseem’s 36-ball 40 guided them closer, before a blitz from Nicholas Pooran, who smashed an unbeaten 39 off 21 deliveries, put the contest beyond the Warriors. A couple of sixes from captain Emirates captain Kieron Pollard brought them to the cusp, and the winning runs were knocked off with 15 balls still to spare.

James Vince and Gerhard Erasmus' fifties helped Gulf Giants chase down 183 and produce a comfortable six-wicket win with an over to spare against Dubai Capitals on Monday. Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked up two early wickets, but Vince (83 not out) and Erasmus put on a fantastic partnership of 107 runs off 59 balls to blunt Capitals and seal their second victory in a row.

Giants' chase started with the young Rehan Ahmed promoted to open with Vince. The English allrounder made an 18-ball 27 to give them a good start before being castled by Mujeeb in the fifth over. Two balls later, Ollie Pope was trapped lbw. From 43 for 2, Vince and Erasmus helped the side recover. After scoring just 36 off the first 33 balls, Vince upped the ante after the halfway mark to hit 47 off the next 23 balls. He targeted Mujeeb, in particular, notching up two sixes and two fours off his bowling.

Erasmus kept the scorecard ticking from the beginning, unleashing five fours and two sixes before being run out in the 16th over. By the time he was dismissed, Giants were in sight of the win.

Earlier, Robin Uthappa raced to a 24-ball fifty as Capitals put on 60 runs in the first six overs. Joe Root made an 11-ball six and was run out off Rehan Ahmed when he tried to sneak in a quick single and Vince put in a throw from short mid-off to dismiss him. Rovman Powell then got off to a flying start by smashing two huge sixes in the eighth and ninth over.

Between Uthappa and Powell, they shared a 43-run stand off just 28 balls for the third wicket. It was David Wiese who broke the partnership and Capitals' momentum by dismissing Uthappa in the 12th over. His knock consisted of ten fours and two sixes. Four overs later, Powell was out when Rehan castled him. From 142 for 2, Capitals collapsed to 172 for 7 as Giants bounced back.

Sikander Raza's unbeaten 30 off 19 balls and Hazrat Luqman's 10 off two balls at the death lifted Capitals to a competitive total which wasn't enough at the end.

Rehan finished with 3 for 28 while Richard Gleeson's two wickets ensured Giants restricted Capitals to under 200.

A fine bowling performance followed by a match-winning partnership between Alex Hales and Sam Billings saw Desert Vipers get their ILT20 campaign off to a winning start. For Sharjah Warriors, another poor batting display brought about their second defeat in as many days.

Chasing 146, Vipers lost Rohan Mustafa to Moeen Ali in the first over; then Chris Woakes had Colin Munro holing out to deep square leg in the second over. But Hales and Billings put on a 128-run stand to seal victory for them.

Hales finished unbeaten on 83 off 52 deliveries, hitting nine fours and three sixes. Billings scored 49 off 38 balls, losing his wicket with just three runs needed for a win.

Hales finished the chase off with a boundary, with 20 deliveries remaining. Hales’ 83* was also the highest individual score of the tournament.

Earlier, Warriors, who were put in to bat, had got off to a slow start, before Evin Lewis top-edged Sheldon Cottrell to fine leg in the third over. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who had impressed in the first match, then hit a six and a four before skying an easy catch for Billings off Gus Atkinson.

Tom Curran was next to get his name on the wickets column, as a struggling Tom Kohler-Cadmore miscued a cut to Mustafa at deep third.

Warriors' captain Moeen and Dawid Malan briefly stabilised the innings, putting on 28 for the fourth wicket. But Vipers applied the squeeze and both batters lost their wickets in consecutive overs.

Joe Denly and Mohammad Nabi then batted out nine overs and put on an unbeaten partnership of 77 to help Warriors get to a competitive total. Nabi hit 34 off 23 deliveries, and Denly made 36 off 33, as Warriors finished on 145.

All seam bowlers took a wicket each for Vipers, and their only over of spin came from Mustafa, who gave away seven runs without taking a wicket.

Sanchit Sharma with the new ball, Chris Jordan at the death, and James Vince in the chase helped Gulf Giants overpower Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the third match of the ILT20 in Abu Dhabi.

Giants had to chase only 115 after Knight Riders were restricted to 114 for 9.

UAE seamer Sanchit did the early damage with the wickets of Colin Ingram, Brandon King and Connor Esterhuizen - all in the powerplay. He returned figures of 3 for 9 in three overs.

Andre Russell walked in with Knight Riders 34 for 4 and looked to resurrect the innings but was out for a 12-ball 26.

Jordan then ran through Knight Riders' lower order to finish with 3 for 28.

Giants' chase was kickstarted by Vince, who scored 65 in 44 balls and dominated a second-wicket stand of 75 with England team-mate Ollie Pope (18).

Shimron Hetmyer and David Wiese remained unbeaten to finish the game off with 34 balls and six wickets to spare.

A fine all-round effort from Chris Woakes went in vain as MI Emirates began their ILT20 campaign with a 49-run win over Sharjah Warriors at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. UAE batter Muhammad Waseem was the star with the bat, hitting 71 off 39 deliveries to help power MI Emirates to a total of 204 for 5 – the first 200-plus total in the tournament.

Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Imran Tahir then helped restrict Sharjah to 155 for 9.

After Will Smeed faced a quiet over to begin with from Woakes, Waseem took the attack to Naveen-Ul-Haq, as they got 16 runs off the fast bowler’s over.

Smeed skied a catch for Rahmanullag Gurbaz off Woakes in the third over, but Waseem and Fletcher saw them finish the powerplay on a strong note.

Woakes, who was comfortably the best bowler for Sharjah, returned to have Fletcher caught behind, but it did little to stop MI Emirates’ strong start.

Nicholas Pooran, on the back of an excellent Abu Dhabi T10 competition, joined Waseem in the middle and the two put on a partnership of 79 runs from just 40 deliveries.

Waseem hit five fours and as many sixes, regularly targeting the leg-side. He finally holed out to deep midwicket off Mohammad Nabi.

Medium pacer Junaid Siddique threatened to stop MI Emirates’ momentum as he dismissed Pooran and Najibullah Zadran off consecutive deliveries in the 17th over, but Dwayne Bravo (21* off 10) hit three consecutive fours to end the penultimate over, before he and the captain Kieron Pollard (22* off 13) hit 17 off the last over to take them across 200.

MI Emirates started well with the ball, as Fazalhaq Farooqi castled Evin Lewis and then trapped Dawid Malan lbw off consecutive deliveries in the second over.

Moeen Ali (15 off 16) tried to rebuild for Sharjah along with Gurbaz, as the two put on a 49-run stand, but once Moeen was caught at long-on off Bravo, the wickets started falling in regular intervals.

Gurbaz was soon bowled by Bravo for 43 off 31 before Imran Tahir got rid of Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Joe Denly and Mohammad Nabi in the space of 10 runs.

Woakes then ensured that Sharjah reached a respectable total, bringing his half-century up in just 25 balls and finishing on 62 off 29. He took 20 runs off the final over, bowled by Fletcher, before Waseem took a screamer at long-on off the final delivery to end his innings.

Captain Rovman Powell impressed with the bat and ball to take Dubai Capitals to a 73-run win against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the tournament opener.

Powell made a 29-ball 48 after Capitals were put in, before removing Zawar Farid and the game’s only half-centurion, Paul Stirling, with the ball.

Capitals started slowly and their run rate was just about 7 around the 12-over mark, with Powell on 3 off 9. Robin Uthappa, who worked his way to 43 off 32 was then dismissed by Sunil Narine. Powell turned it around in the next over, pulling two Ali Khan bouncers for sixes and scooping an overpitched ball for four in a 21-run over. He clobbered Ravi Rampaul for a four and six before holing out to deep midwicket in the 17th over, setting the platform for cameos from Sikandar Raza, Ravi Bopara, and Isuru Udana. Capitals made 62 in their last four overs to end with 187.

In reply, only two of Knight Riders’ batters reached double figures. Udana removed Colin Ingram in the first over, and Stirling was dropped on 1 by Bopara off Hazrat Luqman. The opener capitalised by peppering the leg-side boundaries when the bowlers missed their lines, but wickets weren't far at the other end. Akif Raja had Brandon King nicking before Powell foxed Zawar with the slower one. Powell's bouncer led to a miscue from Stirling, allowing Joe Root to take the second of his four catches in the 12th over. The next 29 balls saw a collapse of 21 for 5. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Raza dried up the scoring before Raja and Luqman chipped in with a wicket each to shut the game down. The combined figures of Mujeeb and Raza read 8-0-33-3.

England Test opener to the top six-hitter at the Hundred. It's been an interesting journey for Adam Lyth, who's now set to open for Desert Vipers at the inaugural ILT20, alongside the big-hitting Alex Hales.

Lyth, who hit 20 sixes in eight innings at the 2022 Hundred, joint-highest on the charts with Dawid Malan, downplayed his role in the carnage. "I think (the ability to clear the ropes often) is because of good wickets, and batting in the powerplay,” he told the ILT20. "My job for the team is to try and get good fast starts, and I managed to do that, and I managed to clear the ropes a few times and that is always handy as well.

“If you are in a good place and confidence is high, and if you do get the chance to clear the ropes, it does happen, but I don’t look to hit sixes at will. If they come that is brilliant.”

Lyth played seven Tests for England in 2015, but is now an exceptional white-ball batter on the English circuit. How did this happen? “It is something that evolved naturally,” he said. “I have always played white-ball cricket for Yorkshire, in the (T20) Blast, and over the last few years I have generally done quite well. So, I am looking to play in some of the leagues around the world.”

James Vince will lead Gulf Giants in the inaugural season of the ILT20 in the UAE. The England batter comes with plenty of captaincy experience: he led Hampshire to the Vitality Blast trophy earlier this year, and he also captains Southern Brave in The Hundred.

“This is a great honour and an immense amount of responsibility to be captaining the Gulf Giants in the ILT20," Vince said. "I am glad that the team management and coach Andy Flower have placed trust in me. I will hopefully be able to repay that with plenty of runs.

"I’ve had the good fortune of being captain in franchise cricket in The Hundred and with Hampshire in the Vitality Blast, and it was a successful stint too. And I hope to be able to continue with that trend in the ILT20.”

Head coach Flower hailed Vince's tactical nouse.

“I’ve known James a long time and I’m really looking forward to working with him again for the Gulf Giants," he said. "He is not only an outstanding top order player and brilliant fielder, but also one of the best tactical captains I’ve come across. He has experience winning trophies and playing T20 cricket around the world and he will undoubtedly have an impact for us in the new year.”

Vince has played 313 T20 games, scoring 8348 runs at an average of 30.46 and a strike rate of 134.06. He has represented England in 13 Tests, 22 ODIs and 17 T20Is.

Sunil Narine has been appointed captain of Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for the inaugural season of the ILT20 in the UAE.

Narine, the Trinidadian cricketer who has played all his IPL cricket for the Knight Riders franchise, since 2012, is the eighth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 152 strikes in 147 bowling innings at a remarkable economy rate of 6.63.

"It's a new challenge, because now I have to think about the functioning of our whole team, rather than just focus on my game or my four overs,” Narine said in a statement released by the franchise. “It's something I'm really looking forward to. I have grown on Knight Riders, and Knight Riders have grown on me, so it's like a family. Everywhere they have a team, I love being a part of it.

“I have played a lot of cricket in the UAE, so I know the conditions pretty well. If you look at the ADKR squad, it is a familiar setup, and not a brand new XI that I have to get used to. So that gives me great confidence, knowing the strength of my players. There are a lot of senior guys in the team as well, who I can bounce ideas and information off. It's going to be a lot of fun, it has been a long journey with the Knight Riders family, and I hope it's a never-ending one."

Colin Munro has been named captain of Desert Vipers for the inaugural season of the ILT20 in the UAE next year.

Tom Moody, the franchise’s director of cricket, said of Munro, the widely travelled T20 pro, “I think when you have someone who has played the volume of cricket in franchise cricket, around the world as long as Colin has done, you don’t get someone better qualified, because he has worked in more dressing rooms than probably I have, and most people have, over his journey as a player.

“He has seen many different leadership styles, seen the different trends the game has been taking over recent years, and has an intimate knowledge of players around the world in all different conditions. To me that adds up to a pretty powerful recipe for someone who is going to be making sound strategic decisions under pressure.”

Munro, who acknowledged that he didn’t have a lot of captaincy experience, said he intended to involve the senior members of the team in his decision-making: “I think I will be collaborative and will use everybody’s experience in the group. I think I will be trying to make sure everybody has an enjoyable month. It is a team with a lot of players who play franchise cricket and if we can have a really good month, on and off the field, it will go a long way to us playing good cricket."

All the premier UAE cricketers, including CP Rizwan, Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, and the hat-trick man from the recent T20 World Cup, Karthik Meiyappan, have been signed up by the ILT20 franchises to complete their line-ups for the inaugural season early next year.

Who has gone where
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Matiullah Khan, Fahad Nawaz, Sabir Ali, Zawar Farid
Desert Vipers: Rohan Mustafa, Sheraz Ahmad, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly
Dubai Capitals: Hazrat Luqman, Chirag Suri, Jash Ginyani, Raja Akif Ullah Khan
Gulf Giants: Aayan Khan, Sanchit Sharma, CP Rizwan, Ashwanth Valthapa
MI Emirates: Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan
Sharjah Warriors: Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah

Zahoor, incidentally, has been associated with Mumbai Indians, as a net bowler in 2020, while Suri was a part of the Gujarat Lions' line-up in IPL 2017.

Each team must compulsorily field at least two UAE players in their starting XIs for each game.

The ILT20 will run from January 13 to February 12, 2023.

Moeen Ali will lead Sharjah Warriors in the inaugural edition of the ILT20 that kicks off in Dubai on January 13. Former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace has been appointed as their coach for the first season.

Moeen will be joined by England team-mates Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes in the Warriors side, with the likes of Evin Lewis and Mohammad Nabi also in presence.

“It is a great honour and would be a pleasure to lead Sharjah Warriors,” said Moeen.“In this format, anybody can beat anybody, and it is important to keep evolving. With the team at our disposal, we can play aggressive yet sensible cricket and hopefully be in the mix towards the business end of the ILT20."

Moeen was most recently part of England's T20 World Cup-winning side in Australia.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will take on Dubai Capitals in the opening game of the ILT20, while the final will be held on February 12.

Desert Vipers, the franchise owned by Lancer Capital, have signed up 13 overseas players so far for the ILT20.

Squad so far: Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Sam Billings (England), Alex Hales (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand), Tom Curran (England), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Ruben Trumpelmann (Namibia), Saqib Mahmood (England), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Ben Duckett (England), Benny Howell (England), Sheldon Cottrell (West Indies), Azam Khan (Pakistan)

August 18, 2022: The list of Sharjah Warriors' internationals signings for the inaugural International League T20 include:

Moeen Ali (Eng), Dawid Malan (Eng), Evin Lewis (WI), Mohammad Nabi (Afg), Chris Woakes (Eng), Noor Ahmad (Afg), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afg), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afg), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Eng, uncapped), Chris Benjamin (Eng uncapped), Danny Briggs (Eng), Mark Deyal (WI, uncapped), Bilal Khan (Oman), JJ Smit (Namibia)

August 18, 2022: Here are the 14 overseas players signed by Dubai Capitals, the team owned by the GMR Group, for the inaugural International League T20:

Rovman Powell (West Indies), Dushmantha Chameera (Sri Lanka), Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan), Fabian Allen (West Indies), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Niroshan Dickwella (Sri Lanka), Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Daniel Lawrence (England), Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe), Isuru Udana (Sri Lanka), George Munsey (Scotland), Fred Klaassen (Netherlands)

August 17, 2022: The Gulf Giants, the team owned by Adani Sportsline in the UAE's ILT20, has announced its roster of 14 overseas players:

Gulf Giants squad so far: Shimron Hetmyer (West Indies), Chris Jordan (England), Chris Lynn (Australia), Tom Banton (England), Dominic Drakes (West Indies), David Wiese (Namibia), Jamie Overton (England), Richard Gleeson (England), Rehan Ahmed (England), Wayne Madson (Italy), Liam Dawson (England), Ollie Pope (England), James Vince (England), Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan)

August 16, 2022: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR), the KKR-owned team in the UAE's ILT20, has announced its roster of 14 overseas players:

ADKR squad so far: Sunil Narine,(West Indies), Andre Russell (West Indies), Jonny Bairstow (England), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Lahiru Kumara (Sri Lanka), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Colin Ingram (South Africa) Akeal Hosein (West Indies) Seekkuge Prasanna (Sri Lanka), Ravi Rampaul (West Indies) Raymon Reifer (West Indies) Kennar Lewis (West Indies), Ali Khan (USA), Brandon Glover (Netherlands)

August 12, 2022: MI Emirates, the Mumbai Indians-owned team in the UAE's ILT20, has announced its roster of non-UAE [overseas] players:

August 11: Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran are the latest big names from the Caribbean to sign up for the UAE's International League T20 (ILT20), along with Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka, England's Ollie Pope and Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi. More here.

August 9, 2022: Cricket Australia could stand in the way of Chris Lynn's participation in the ILT20, with the challenge the BBL faces in recruiting overseas talent being laid bare. More here.

August 8, 2022: Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Wanindu Hasaranga, Alex Hales, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman lead the big-name signings for the inaugural International League T20. No cricketers from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan feature in the league's plans at this stage, while Chris Lynn is the only Australian in the mix. More here.

Aug 5, 2022: The potential presence of nine overseas players per team in the UAE-based ILT20 has ruffled the feathers of several Full Members, who fear it has the potential to disrupt global cricket's ecosystem. More here.

August 4, 2022: Negotiations ongoing to have David Warner play in Australia's Big Bash League - which overlaps with the UAE league - for the first time since 2013. Warner, who is contracted to Cricket Australia but doesn't hold a BBL deal, is set to be available to play franchise cricket in January 2023 after Australia's three-match ODI series with South Africa was cancelled, and there was significant interest for him to play in the UAE, particularly given his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals own the Dubai Capitals franchise as well. But ESPNcricinfo understands that a potential deal to sign Warner to the ILT20 is almost certainly off. More here.

July 28, 2022: The UAE-based International League T20 is set to offer top players a whopping USD 450,000 per season, making it the second-most lucrative T20 league for some players outside of the IPL. More here.

July 12, 2022: The Adani Group-owned team in the International League T20 has been named Gulf Giants, and will be coached by Andy Flower.

The tournament has a number of high-profile team owners. Apart from the Adani Group, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, the owners of Mumbai Indians), GMR Group (co-owners of Delhi Capitals), the Knight Riders (Kolkata and Trinbago) franchise owners, Capri Global (a non-banking financial company based in India) and Lancer Capital (owners of Manchester United Football Club) all own teams. More here.