Abu Dhabi, Nov 22 (IANS): Stars like Dwayne Bravo, Alex Hales, Suresh Raina, David Miller, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kieron Pollard and Eoin Morgan will light up the sky when the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 starts at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday (November 23).
The final is scheduled for December 4.
The upcoming season makes the Abu Dhabi T10 bigger and promises to be even better as two new franchises have been added to the mix, making it an eight-franchise affair with 140 cricketers representing the eight teams.
Morrisville SAMP Army and the New York Strikers make their debut at the Abu Dhabi T10 and will line up alongside the Bangla Tigers, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls, 2-time champions Northern Warriors, Team Abu Dhabi and the Chennai Braves.
The opening game will see the Kieron Pollard-led New York Strikers take on the Bangla Tigers captained by Shakib Al Hasan on Wednesday. The second game on the day opening will see the defending Champions Deccan Gladiators, powered by West Indian stars Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russel, square up against crowd favorites Team Abu Dhabi.
The top two ranked teams at the end of the league stages will go head-to-head in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final. The losing team of the first qualifier will then get a second chance when it faces the winner of the day's eliminator played between the sides placed third and fourth.
"We are thrilled that the Season 6 Abu Dhabi T10 will reach the homes and screens of so many people across 5 continents and is waiting to usher in more fans. The Abu Dhabi T10 has grown by leaps and bounds, and we promise an even more exhilarating experience this year to all our fans and followers," Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman, T10 Sports Management was quoted as saying in a release on Tuesday.
"The cricket family has really embraced the T10 format with full member boards joining the bandwagon. Including Abu Dabi, the tournaments in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, we are looking at approximately 5 competitions in all in 2023 as T10 looks to leave its imprint on the global stage," he added.