EXPLAINER
Follow UsHow many teams will be featuring in the 2021 edition?
The 2021 edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League will feature six teams - Bangla Tigers, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls, Northern Warriors, Team Abu Dhabi and the Chennai Braves.
This is a shrink from the 2020 edition, which featured a total of eight teams. While the Maratha Arabians side has been replaced by the Chennai Braves, the 2021 edition will not see Pune Devils or Qalandars.
Who are the defending champions?
The 2020 edition of the T10 league was won by the Northern Warriors, who were led by Nicholas Pooran. They downed the Dwayne Bravo-led Delhi Bulls side by 8 wickets in the final. The Warriors, this time around will be led by West Indies’ Rovman Powell.
What will be the tournament format?
A total of 30 group matches will be played, in which each team will play every other team twice. The Top 4 sides will progress to the playoffs, which will follow the same format as the IPL (Qualifier 1, Eliminator and Qualifier 2).
The group stages will kick-off tomorrow (Friday, November 19) and the final will be played in Abu Dhabi on December 4th.
Who are the Indian players that will be playing in this edition of the T10 League?
A total of four Indians will feature in the 2021 edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
Northern Warriors - Yo Mahesh, Abhimanyu Mithun
Chennai Braves - Yusuf Pathan, Munaf Patel
Who are the marquee players that will be playing this season?
A host of international superstars, including the ones who lit up the T20 World Cup in UAE, will be playing in this season of the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Here are some of the big names who will be in action.
Delhi Bulls
Eoin Morgan, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammed Hafeez and Adil Rashid
Team Abu Dhabi
Chris Gayle, Liam Livingstone, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fidel Edwards and Sheldon Cottrell
Northern Warriors
Moeen Ali, Imran Tahir, Chris Jordan and Rovman Powell
Chennai Braves
Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Shahzad, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Ravi Bopara
Bangla Tigers
Faf du Plessis, Mohammad Amir, James Faulkner, Hazratullah Zazai, Isuru Udana
Deccan Gladiators
Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Wiese, Wahab Riaz, Najib Zadran
Who are some of the other players who might potentially be scouted by IPL franchises?
Odean Smith (Deccan Gladiators) - The 25-year-old endured a breakthrough CPL season where he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the competition, and made a name for himself as an exceptional operator in the death overs. A strong T10 league season could very well potentially land him an IPL contract in the Mega auction.
Najib Zadran (Deccan Gladiators) - Najib is no longer a ‘lesser-known’ name, but there will certainly be a fair few franchises that will have an eye on him after his impressive showing in the T20 World Cup. Middle-order six-hitters are rare, thus a dominant season here, for all we know, could tempt an IPL franchise into taking a punt on him at the Mega Auction.
Dominic Drakes (Delhi Bulls) - Son of former West Indies fast bowler Vasbert Drakes, Dominic Drakes came into the limelight following a match-winning knock in the CPL 2021 final, after which he was roped in as a replacement for Sam Curran by CSK. Individually, left-arm seamers and power-hitters are valuable commodities in T20s, which is why Drakes is already a sought-after cricketer as he offers the best of both worlds. Having already spent time in the IPL environment, it goes without saying that all franchises will be having a close eye on Drakes’ showing.
Benny Howell (Bangla Tigers) - A one-of-a-kind bowler who possess a boatload of baseball-inspired bowling variations, Benny Howell has been sensational in short-form cricket for quite a while, but attracted eyeballs following an impressive season for Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural season of The Hundred, where he picked up 11 wickets at an ER of 7.20. Having already featured in BBL and BPL, an impressive showing in a tournament which is supposed to be a graveyard for bowlers could just land him a special deal.
Franchises will also, in all likelihood, be keeping a close eye on players such as Qais Ahmad (Bangla Tigers), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Delhi Bulls), Romario Shepherd (Delhi Bulls) and Mark Watt (Northern Warriors).
Squads
Delhi Bulls
Dwayne Bravo, Eoin Morgan, Sherfane Rutherford, Rilee Rossouw, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kusal Perera, Gulbadin Naib, Romario Shepherd, Sheraz Ahmad, Dominic Drakes, Ravi Rampaul, Adil Rashid, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Nyeem Young, Devon Thomas, and Akeal Hosein.
Team Abu Dhabi
Liam Livingstone, Christopher Henry Gayle, Phil Salt, Paul Stirling, Colin Ingram, Danny Briggs, Jamie Overton, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sheldon Cottrell, Muhammad Farazuddin, Rohan Mustafa, Ahmad Daniyal Latif, Marchant de Lange, Christopher Benjamin, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Fidel Edwards.
Northern Warriors
Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Tahir, Rameez Shahzad, Upul Tharanga, Samit Patel, Kennar Lewis, Abhimanyu Mithun, Yo Mahesh, Umair Ali, Josh Little, Mir Kaunain Abbas, Rayad Emrit, Mark Watt, Gareth Delany and Ross Whiteley.
Bangla Tigers
Faf du Plessis, Andre Fletcher, James Faulkner, Hazratullah Zazai, Johnson Charles, Qais Ahmad, William George Jacks, Isuru Udana, Hassan Khalid, Will Smeed, Sabir Rao, Mohammad Amir, Benny Howell, Karim Janat, Tom Hartley and Adam Lyth.
Deccan Gladiators
Andre Russell, Tom Banton, Wahab Riaz, Anwar Ali, Hamid Hassan, Tymal Mills, Najibullah Zadran, Izharulhaq Naveed, Nav Pabreja, Rumman Raees, David Wiese, Sultan Ahmed, Odean Smith, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
The Chennai Braves
Yusuf Pathan, Dasun Shanaka, Mohammad Shahzad, Munaf Patel, Bhanuka Rajapaska, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Samiullah Shinwari, Mark Deyal, Ravi Bopara, Farid Malik, Laxman Manjrekar, Khalid Shah, Roman Walker, Curtis Campher, Angelo Perera, Tion Webster, Tobias Albert
