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Follow UsThe second season of the ILT20 gets underway on the 19th of January at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium between Sharjah Warriors and winners of the inaugural season, Gulf Giants.
Plenty of international stars have hopped on the ILT20 bandwagon, including the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, and Wanindu Hasaranga.
With six teams fighting it out to win the title, let’s look at some of the players to look out for in the upcoming edition of the ILT20.
The youngster from Victoria has been in striking form in the BBL. He first announced himself with a freakish 29-ball hundred in a List-A game. He not only broke the world record for the fastest List A ton, but also became the first batter in cricket history to score a ton in under 30 balls.
A late entrant to the ILT20, he was signed by the Dubai Capitals as a replacement for Nuwan Thushara, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
In BBL 13, he’s been in red-hot form, scoring 215 runs at an insane strike rate of 164. He’s hit 16 sixes in the seven games so far, having hit only eight sixes in the 20-odd BBL games he’d played before this season. A clear reflection of the improvement he’s shown.
A tearaway quick from UAE, the left-arm pacer has really made us sit up and notice his pace. He’s been retained by the Sharjah Warriors, having featured for them in the first season as well.
He made his international debut earlier this year and has played 5 T20Is so far. And all of them have coincidentally been against Afghanistan.
In the second T20I of the three-match series, Jawadullah registered figures of 4/26, which included the prized scalp of Najibullah Zadran. A key feature of his spell once again was how each of these batters were beaten for pace.
The Sharjah Warriors seem a bit light on quality pacers, so expect Jawad to play a big role if the Warriors make it to the playoffs.
The leg-spinner from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa first came to the limelight representing the Texas Super Kings in the MLC. After coming in as a wildcard signing, he emerged as TSK’s highest wicket-taker in their inaugural edition.
He’s also been a part of the PSL, having been drafted in by Peshawar Zalmi in 2020. A computer engineer by qualification, he is also a handy batter down the order.
This time around, he’ll be featuring for yet another team owned by an Indian franchise, the Dubai Capitals. The team is scheduled to play five of their league games in Dubai, whose longer square boundaries Mohsin will look to exploit.
Leg spinner, googly, flipper - he possesses all the weapons in his armoury to be a solid wicket-taking option in the T20 format.
A fast bowler from Ajman, he was awarded Player of the Match in his maiden ILT20 encounter for registering figures of 3/9.
With the ability to swing the ball both ways, he will be more than a handful under helpful conditions. He also took a wicket in five of the six games he played in the first edition.
Despite making his international debut in 2021, he’s not donned the UAE jersey frequently enough due to an accident he faced in the same year. Playing for the defending champions Gulf Giants, he will want to make a mark to force himself back into the reckoning for the national side.
A handy all-rounder, the 22-year-old has been retained by the MI Emirates ahead of the upcoming season.
A left-handed top-order batter, Mousley also featured in the recently concluded Abu Dhabi T10. Apart from that, he was also a part of the Birmingham Phoenix in the last edition of The Hundred and Peshawar Zalmi have also signed the youngster for the 2024 season.
Playing for Team Abu Dhabi, his off-spin will also be useful in these conditions. If the MI’s scouting team is anything to go by, the youngster can potentially be a hidden gem for the franchise.
With a strike rate of 135 with the bat in hand and an economy of 7.3 with the ball, he can potentially be someone who could slot in the middle order and add value with the ball as well.
