The T10 league will move from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi for its third season.
It will now be known as Abu Dhabi T10, and is scheduled to be played in the capital for at least the next five seasons.
The 10-over competition involves eight franchises, and some of the sport’s most recognisable players.
It has been running for two years. Kerala Kings, a now defunct team who were led by Eoin Morgan, won the first tournament in front of packed stands in Sharjah in 2017.
The Northern Warriors will be back to defend the title they won 12 months ago, with Robin Singh and Daren Sammy, the victorious coach and captain combination, returning.
When is it?
The tournament starts on November 15, with the finals day scheduled for November 24. All matches will be played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Which players are involved?
Morgan, who captained England to World Cup glory in the summer, will take charge of Delhi Bulls, where he will link up with coach Stephen Fleming.
Sammy, a two-time World T20 winning captain, leads a team full of West Indian talent, including Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, and Lendl Simmons.
T20 veterans like Shane Watson, Kieron Pollard, Thisara Perera and Lasith Malinga will also be here – as well as a host of Pakistan stars…
Pakistan stars
Mohammed Amir (Team Abu Dhabi)
Just as he was in 2017 when the league launched, Amir was the first pick at the draft in October. He joined the new side representing Abu Dhabi.
The storied left-arm fast-bowler has more time on his hands for league cricket, having announced his retirement from Tests in July, aged 27.
Mohammed Hasnain (Delhi Bulls)
Caught the eye as the fastest bowler in the Pakistan Super League last season when he was an 18-year-old rookie with Quetta Gladiators.
That earned him a place in Pakistan’s squad at the World Cup, and meant he was hot property at the T10 draft, too.
Wahab Riaz (Northern Warriors)
Wahab is one of only three players – Pooran and UAE’s Imran Haider are the others – who have winners’ medals from both T10 seasons.
He has been retained by defending champions Northern Warriors. Like his fellow Pakistan left-armer Amir, Wahab also retired from Tests earlier this year.
Why are Qalandars in it?
There are only two teams remaining in the same guise from last season – Maratha Arabians and Northern Warriors – but one of the new franchises is more recognisable than any.
Lahore Qalandars, the PSL side, have entered a team in the 10-over tournament.
Although they will be known for the purposes of this tournament simply as Qalandars, they have a number of household names from Pakistan.
Shahid Afridi is joining them for this tournament, while Mohammed Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf are all set to feature.
Qalandars been given an exemption from the rule requiring them to have UAE players, and they only have four overseas players in all.
T20 veterans Luke Ronchi and Chris Jordan will be part of the side, as will two emerging talents from the UK, Tom Banton, and Phil Salt – who was actually part of the Qalandars side that won the Abu Dhabi T20 last year.
Teams
Pool A
Bangla Tigers
New team
Coach: Aftab Ahmed
Squad: Thisara Perera, Anamul Haque, Mahedi Hasan, Farhad Reza, Yasir Ali, Robert Frylinck, Colin de Grandhomme, Colin Ingram, Andre Fletcher, Rilee Rossouw, Qais Ahmed, James Faulkner, Chirag Suri, Junaid Siddique, Abu Hider, Arafat Sunny
Deccan Gladiators
Last season: Last (as Sindhis)
Coach: Mushtaq Ahmed
Squad: Shane Watson, Anton Devcich, Kieron Pollard, Tymal Mills, Zahir Khan, Mohammed Shahzad, Fawad Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Zahoor Khan, Asif Ali, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Mason Crane, Bhanuka Rakapaksa
Delhi Bulls
Last season: Fourth (as Bengal Tigers)
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Squad: Eoin Morgan, Mohammed Nabi, Zaheer Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Kusal Perera, Adil Rashid, Mohammed Hasnain, Sherfane Rutherford, Ali Khan, Aamer Yamin, Mohammed Usman, Waheed Ahmed, Tobias Visee, Paul Stirling
Karnataka Tuskers
New team
Coach: Tom Moody
Squad: Hashim Amla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Pat Brown, Evin Lewis, Kesrick Williams, Johnson Charles, Ross Whiteley, Fabian Allen, Shapoor Zadran, Ahmed Raza, Asif Mumtaz, Marlon Samuels, Natham Rimmington, Shafiqullah
Pool B
Maratha Arabians
Last season: Third
Coach: Andy Flower
Squad: Chris Lynn, Dwayne Bravo, Lasith Malinga, Hazratullah Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammed Irfan, Dasun Shanaka, Chadwick Walton, Wanindu Hasaranga, James Fuller, Adam Lyth, Shiraz Ahmed, Mohammed Qasim, Nasir Aziz
Qalandars
New team
Coach: Aaqib Javed
Squad: Shahid Afridi, Sohail Akhtar, Luke Ronchi, Chris Jordan, Tom Banton, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Phil Salt, Imran Nazir, Maaz Khan, Majid Ali, Haris Rauf, Ahsan Mirza, Dilbar Hussain
Northern Warriors
Last season: Champions
Coach: Robin Singh
Squad: Daren Sammy, Andre Russell, Wahab Riaz, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Green, Sam Billings, Pravin Tambe, Lendl Simmons, Sikandar Raza, Ansh Tandon, Amir Hayat, Mark Deyal, George Munsey, Karim Janat
Team Abu Dhabi
New team
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Squad: Moeen Ali, Mohammed Amir, Harry Gurney, Luke Wright, Corey Anderson, Lewis Gregory, Ben Laughlin, Niroshan Dickwella, Richard Gleeson, Rohan Mustafa, Rameez Shahzad, Hayden Walsh Jr, Alex Davies
