ILT20 Captains Upbeat About Producing Electrifying Performances in Inaugural Season

The
six
teams
–
Dubai
Capitals,
Sharjah
Warriors,
Desert
Viper,
Abu
Dhabi
Knight
Riders,
MI
Emirates
and
Gujarat
Titans
–
will
battle
in
the
inaugural
edition
of
the
league.
The
Capitals
and
Knight
Riders
will
battle
it
out
following
a
glitzy
opening
ceremony
at
the
‘Ring
of
Fire’.

Before
they
take
on
each
other
on
the
park,
a
representative
from
each
of
the
franchises
assembled
for
a
press
conference
on
the
eve
of
the
start
of
the
month-long
contest
to
share
their
thoughts
about
the
beginning
of
the
exciting
T20
league.

The
Abu
Dhabi
Knight
Riders
Captain
Sunil
Narine
expressed
that
he
wants
his
team
to
enjoy
the
ride
in
the
ILT20.

“Anything
you
do
in
cricket
is
challenging.
We
have
to
adapt
and
enjoy
what
we
are
doing.
I
hope
everyone
enjoys
the
cricket
and
gives
their
best,”
Narine
said.

Narine
who
has
come
with
his
family
also
believes
that
UAE
is
a
great
place
to
play
cricket.

“Having
family
here
is
great
as
we
can
do
a
little
bit
of
sightseeing
during
our
downtime
instead
of
just
relaxing
in
the
room.
There
are
a
lot
of
things
to
do
in
Dubai
and
Abu
Dhabi,”
Narine
added.

Meanwhile,
Colin
Munro,
the
captain
of
Desert
Vipers
is
confident
that
his
team
will
sting
his
opponents
hard.
He
revealed
that
he
has
such
a
strong
team
that
he
has
a
problem
of
plenty
with
many
good
players
in
the
squad.

“We
have
to
look
at
the
balance
of
our
team.
The
hardest
thing
for
us
will
be
to
find
a
way
to
fit
all
good
players
into
the
eleven.
I
just
want
all
the
boys
to
enjoy
the
cricket
and
their
time
in
the
UAE,”
Munro
said.

Rovman
Powell,
skipper
of
the
Dubai
Capitals,
wants
everyone
to
use
the
opportunity
to
improve,
especially
the
UAE
players.

“This
is
a
start
of
something
special.
Not
from
a
personal
standpoint
but
from
the
team
and
franchise
standpoint.
This
is
a
good
chance
for
the
UAE
players
to
showcase
their
talent.
The
ILT20
is
a
good
launching
pad
for
them
and
hopefully,
they’ll
utilize
this
opportunity,”
Powell
said.

James
Vince,
the
skipper
of
the
Gulf
Giants
has
giant
hopes
about
his
team’s
chances
but
accepts
that
all
other
teams
are
strong
too.

“We
are
excited
to
see
the
tournament
get
underway.
Every
team
has
good
talent
and
I’m
looking
forward
to
seeing
the
teams
play
against
each
other.
Most
of
my
players
travel
from
tournament
to
tournament
and
they
know
what
to
do
in
the
coming
days.
It
is
important
that
they
play
their
roles
well,”
Vince
said.

Dwyane
Bravo,
the
senior
most
player
who
represented
MI
Emirates
in
the
press
conference
said
that
the
event
will
be
very
competitive.

“This
is
a
short
tournament,
but
it’s
going
to
be
a
competitive
one.”
Bravo
also
revealed
that
it
would
be
a
learning
experience
for
youngsters.
“It’s
important
for
me
to
pass
on
whatever
knowledge
that
I
have
about
the
game
to
my
teammates
and
also
develop
the
next
generation
of
cricketers,”
Bravo
said.

Meanwhile,
Moeen
Ali,
skipper
of
the
Sharjah
Warriors,
like
brave
warriors,
emphatically
said,
“We’ll
look
to
play
some
good
cricket
and
we
are
here
to
win.
We
want
to
do
well
particularly
in
Sharjah
since
it’s
our
home
ground.
We’ll
look
to
enjoy
the
cricket
and
also
be
competitive
at
the
same
time.”

ILT20
Opening
Ceremony
Details

Doors
will
open
for
fans
to
catch
the
opening
ceremony
of
the
DP
World
ILT20
(Friday
13
January)
from
4:00
pm
GST
(5:30
pm
IST)
with
the
electrifying
Badshah
and
Derulo
performances
starting
at
5:15
pm
GST
(6:45
pm
IST),
followed
by
the
much
anticipated
first
match
of
the
league
between
Dubai
Capitals
and
Abu
Dhabi
Knight
Riders
set
to
will
kick
off
at
6.45
pm
GST
(8:15
pm
IST).

Source:
Media
Release