Dubai: The arrival of three established Indian players in Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Unmukt Chand will lend a new edge to the DP World ILT20 Season 4, which begins on Tuesday with a rematch of last season’s final between defending champions Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers.
Karthik will represent Sharjah Warriorz while the Chawla-Chand duo will bolster Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
Sharjah Warriorz pacer Tim Southee welcomed Karthik’s leadership touch.
“The quality of our side and the other teams is amazing… Dinesh Karthik’s experience will be a wonderful addition,” Southee said.
Laxmi Shetty, Head – Advertisement Revenue, Broadcast and Digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd said the tournament has grown into the world’s second most-watched T20 league, and the addition of three Indian players is expected to further boost its global and Indian viewership.
“From an India point of view, with three Indian players coming in, it would only add more to the viewership. The season has actually grown year on year. It’s the second most viewed league, I would say, globally,” said Shetty.
ILT20 CEO and former New Zealand cricketer David White said the Indians’ presence will deepen fan engagement, especially with the large Indian diaspora in the UAE.
“Three Indian players will be great. Of course, we know Indian fans love Indian players. So we’re really, really looking forward to that,” White said.
“The quality of cricket is going to be really high with nine overseas players per team. Now we’ve also introduced some Kuwait players and Saudi players as well. And we see the future of this league being very much a Gulf region, not just the UAE.”
White added that the ILT20 remains a global melting pot.
“We have got great players from England, New Zealand, West Indies. So we would like to think that we are a competition for all countries. Like our logo says, where the world plays… It is such a fantastic melting pot, this country, and we would like to think we are representative of that.”
With thousands of overseas visitors already in the UAE for the long weekend, White expects “big crowds”, as the season opens with a glittering ceremony headlined by Ali Zafar.
Back to lead Dubai Capitals’ in their title defence, Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib said: “We like to defend the title again and again.”
“We have got some new faces and they are very keen to do something for the team.”
Desert Vipers skipper Lockie Ferguson highlighted the squad’s continuity.
“It feels like a family… this year we’re looking to do even better. I’m excited to work alongside Naseem Shah, David Payne and Khuzaima Tanveer in a well-balanced bowling attack.”
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders captain Jason Holder, working with Chawla and Chand this season, said: “We all want to win. It’s simple for us — we just need to be disciplined… We have a lot of power and depth, so the task will be to put it all together.”
Gulf Giants’ Moeen Ali spoke about the rising standards.
“The quality has gone up… I think what’s important is how good our local players are, and we’re hoping to get back to competing for the title.”
MI Emirates captain Kieron Pollard said his squad had been constructed with clarity.
“We just need to play consistent cricket… We have great UAE players like Muhammad Waseem, Rohid and Zahoor Khan.”
The DP World ILT20 Season 4 will be broadcast exclusively across India on Zee’s linear TV channels and streamed free on the Zee5 OTT platform, giving fans complete access to all live action.
