Dubai Capitals, the sister franchise of 2020 IPL runners-up Delhi Capitals, on Thursday announced Rovman Powell, Dasun Shanaka, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Fabian Allen, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza as their signings for the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE, through their social media accounts.
Powell represented Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022 earlier this year. In 14 matches for the franchise, he made 250 runs as a lower-order batter, at an average of 25 and strike rate of 149.70 in his very first time in the IPL. Except for Shanaka and Raza, the rest of the players signed up by Dubai Capitals have had current or previous IPL experience.
The Dubai franchise in the ILT20 will be operated by GMR Group, who are the co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Each team in the ILT20 will consist of 18 players, including four local UAE players and two other players from ICC Associate countries.
The MI Emirates, Knight Riders group-owned Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and the Adani Sportsline-owned Gulf Giants have already announced their squads for the ILT20.
The inaugural edition of ILT20 will be played in a 34-match format across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, starting from January 2023. Apart from GMR Group owning the Dubai Emirates, Reliance Industries Limited (franchise name as the MI Emirates), Lancer Capital, Adani Sportsline (franchise name as Gulf Giants), Knight Riders Group (franchise name as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) and Capri Global are the other team owners in the league.
ILT20 will be in a direct clash with So'th Africa's T20 League, also scheduled to begin from next year. Both leagues will be operating during the time when'Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) and 'angladesh's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will be on.
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