The T20 Blitz returns to the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground for a second year, as teams confirmed their final list of players ahead of the first match starting on March 8.
The 16 player squads – which contain 25 international players from nine different countries, boast some of the best T20 talent in the world and contain no less than 11 ICC World Twenty20 champions – may have a maximum of 4 overseas players, plus one Associate nation player.
Cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shahid Afridi, Darren Sammy and were the first big names signed in January, but they’ve since been joined by the likes of Samuel Badree, Ian Bell, Chris Jordan and Marlon Samuels.
And to add further interest, West Indies legend Brian Lara will mentor the Galaxy Gladiators Lantau franchise. “We could not be happier with the final squad lists that have been submitted by the five franchises,” Cricket Hong Kong CEO Tim Cutler said.
“To see 25 of the world’s best T20 cricketers is simply amazing and is surely beyond anyone’s expectations for this second HK T20 Blitz.”
Cutler continued “I’m not sure who I am more excited for – the fans in the ground and around the world are going to be able to watch world class action – or the Hong Kong players, who get to play alongside and against some absolute idols of the modern game.”
“In true Hong Kong style, there quite simply isn’t a tournament like this anywhere else in the world and to that end it is no surprise we have fielded requests for information from across the globe. A huge thanks to our five franchise owners. Without them there is simply not Blitz.
City Kaitak
Overseas players: Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Kyle Coetzer (Sco), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Rayad Emrit (WI), Chris Jordan (Eng)
Domestic Players: Aizaz Khan (Capt), Nadeem Ahmed, Gareth Harte, Ryan Buckley, Waqas Barkat, Raag Kapur, Akbar Khan, Niaz Ali, Ankur Sharma, Sheryar Saeed, Siegfried Wai.
Galaxy Gladiators Lantau
Overseas players: Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Jesse Ryder (NZ), Sohail Tanvir (Pak), Seekkuge Prasanna (SL), Assad Vala (PNG)
Domestic players: Anshuman Rath (Capt), Mohammad Awais, Mo Khan, Haseeb Amjad, Daniyal Bukhari, Courtney Kruger, Karandeep Singh, Arshad Haroon Mohammad, Ishaq Ibraheem Muhammad, Jason Lui, Sourav Kumar
Hung Hom JD Jaguars
Overseas players: Darren Sammy (WI), Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Mohammad Naveed (UAE), James Franklin (NZ), Johan Botha (SA)
Domestic Players: Kinchit Shah (Capt), Nizakat Shah (Vice Captain), Ninad Shah, Chris Carter, (Wicketkeeper), Imran Arif, Simandeep Singh, Sikander Zafar, Ashley Caddy, Skhawat Ali, Damien Yee, Vishal Sharma
Hong Kong Island United
Overseas players: Misbah Ul-Haq (Pak) (Capt), Ian Bell (Eng), Samuel Badree (WI), Saeed Ajmal (Pak), George Munsey (Sco)
Domestic players: Jamie Atkinson, Tanwir Afzaal, Ehsan Khan, Daniel Pascoe, Kyle Christie, Moner Dar, Muhammad Balal, Devang Bulsara, Rory Caines, Ady Lee, Anas Khan
Kowloon Cantons
Overseas Players: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Dwayne Smith (WI), Marlon Samuels (WI), Yasir Arafat (Pak), Calum MacLeod (Sco)
Domestic Players: Babar Hayat (Capt), Tanveer Ahmed, Shahid Wasif, Waqas Khan, Isaac Poole, Ehsan Nawaz, Ahsan Abassi, Li Kai Ming, Muddasar Hussain, Angus Robson, Sunny Bhimsaria
T20 Blitz
Date: 8-12 March, 2017
Venue: Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground
Tickets: $1,300, $600, $195, $90 from Ticketflap
Additional reporting: HK Cricket