Dwayne Bravo.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The likes of Australian big-hitter David Warner and New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult will headline the second edition of the six-team DP World International League T20, beginning on Friday in the UAE.
A total of 34 games will be played in the league including the final in Dubai on February 17. Dubai will host 15 games, Abu Dhabi 11 and Sharjah will be the venue for the remaining eight games.
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu has also signed up for the competition and will represent Mumbai Indians Emirates.
The other ILT20 teams apart from MI Emirates (Reliance Industries) are Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).
Besides Warner and Boult, the other big games who will be a part of the tournament are Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Dasun Shanaka, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sam Billings, David Willey, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, James Vince, Chris Woakes and Martin Guptill.
The recently-retired Warner, who would be captaining Dubai Capitals, is also the face of the league's marketing campaign alongside former India spinner and the event's official ambassador Harbhajan Singh.
Boult, who is an active international cricketer but has opted out of New Zealand's central contract pool, will play for MI Emirates.
"As I gear up for my debut in one of the world's most competitive T20 leagues, it's truly an honour to be the face of this season's marketing campaign," Warner said.
The competition will be shown live on Zee's 10 channels -- &Pictures, &Pictures HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Zest, Zee Ganga, Zee Cinemalu HD, &Flix, &Flix HD and Zee Zest HD -- and streaming app ZEE5.
"We are delighted to have David Warner along with league’s ambassador and commentator Harbhajan Singh to kick off DP World ILT20 Season 2 marketing campaign," said Rahul Johri, President – Business, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL).
Gulf Giants had won the inaugural edition after beating MI Emirates. The tournament opener will be played between Sharjah Warriors and Gulf Giants on January 19.
The ILT20 has also announced a star-studded commentary panel that includes Harbhajan, Virender Sehwag, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Alan Wilkins, Simon Doull, Daren Ganga, Danny Morrison and Niall O'Brien. The event will feature both Hindi and English commentary.
According to the organisers, the event's first season attracted 367 million viewers from India and around the world, making it the second most watched T20 cricket league globally.
"The deep distribution and disruptive marketing strategy for the second season aims to further enhance the league's reach and ensure widespread viewership, emphasizing ILT20’s appeal to a broad and diverse audience. In the previous season, the league achieved a remarkable reach of over 250 million across India," the organisers stated.
ZEE Entertainment also conducted an ILT20 trophy tour in India. As part of this, the trophy, crafted by the renowned English trophy maker Thomas Lyte, was showcased across major cities, towns, and cricketing hubs.
All single header matches will be broadcast live at 8 PM IST while the afternoon games on the double-header days will start at 4 PM IST.