England trio of Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes and West Indies batter Evin Lewis were amongst the 14 internationals signings made by Sharjah Warriors for the inaugural edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE.
Moeen’s signing comes as a surprise as many reports had suggested that he had agreed to be a part of Chennai Super Kings-owned Johannesburg team in South Africa’s new T20 League, which is scheduled in January-February next year.
The inaugural edition of ILT20 will be played in a 34-match format across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, starting from January 2023.
“It has not been easy putting together a squad when the top IPL sides are also in search of players. The players tend to prefer IPL sides, particularly because it may open doors for the IPL. But we are happy with the final composition of the squad. We have a few quality international all-rounders in Moeen, (Mohammad) Nabi and Chris Woakes, in-form batsman in Dawid Malan and explosive opening batter in Evin Lewis.”
“Our Afghanistan players like (Rahmanullah) Gurbaaz , Naveen (ul-Haq) and Noor (Ahmed) are extremely well versed in the UAE conditions, especially Sharjah. Add to the mix a few explosive finishers in Chris Benjamin, Tom Cadmore and a mystery spinner in Mark Deyal. The two left-arm pacers in JJ Smit and Bilal khan complete the line-up. We’re extremely happy,” R Sridhar, the coach of Sharjah Warriors, said.
Sharjah Warriors squad:
Moeen Ali (England), Dawid Malan (England), Evin Lewis (West Indies), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Chris Woakes (England), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Chris Benjamin (England), Danny Briggs (England), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Bilal Khan (Oman) and JJ Smit (Namibia)