Hong Kong T20 Blitz to feature cricketers from India, Australia and associate nations
The provisional squads for the upcoming Hong Kong T20 Blitz, to be held over two days on May 28th and 29th, have been released. Michael Clarke of Australia will join the Hong Kong players in this tournament, as had already been reported. However, as the teams lists show, they will also be joined by top talents from India and Australia, as well as associate nations of Netherlands, UAE and Nepal.
The presence of cricketers from the Big Bash League, India’s domestic teams as well as international teams, has further raised the profile of this event.
Kowloon Cantons will feature Clarke, the former Australian captain, who is also scheduled to have some mentoring sessions with the Hong Kong men's’ and women's’ teams. The other foreigner in the Cantoons squad is Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichchane, who featured in the U19 World Cup this year, and has been named in the senior national team as well.
There are three overseas players turning out for Woodworm Island Warriors – Michael Swart, vice-captain of the Netherlands side and a prolific batsman who earned his stripes in Australia’s domestic cricket, Will Sheridan and Michael Hill, both of whom are domestic cricketers from Australia. Sheridan is an all-rounder who has played for Melbourne Renegades, while Hill is a former Australia U19 captain who now plays for Hobart Hurricanes.
Hung Hom JD Jaguars feature UAE pacer Mohammed Naveed, who played the 2015 World Cup, as well as the Asia Cup earlier this year. Also in the side is Vinit Indulkar, a veteran batsman of Indian domestic cricket. Indulkar has played for Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh, as well as being on the ranks of Kolkata Knight Riders. The 31-year-old played his last Ranji Trophy match two years ago, but can be expected to display a lot of tactical nous. The third overseas player in the team is Doraiswamy Subramanian, yet another Mumbai cricketer who played his last Ranji Trophy match two years ago.
Gil Lantau Galaxy Riders have tapped into Delhi’s domestic cricket, signing up Saurabh Passi, Neel Mani Jha, Harshit Verma and Narendra Chauhan, though only two will be allowed to play in the same match. Passi is the most accomplished named from among these four cricketers, having represented Delhi for one T20 match in 2014.
SQUADS
Woodworm Island Warriors
Tanwir Afzal, Nadeem Ahmed, Adil Mehmood, Raag Kapur, Jamie Atkinson, Ehsan Khan, Balal Muhammad, Ahsan Abbasi, Courtney Kruger, Waqas Barkat, Sunny Bhimsaria, Micky Swart (Netherlands), William Sheridan (Australia), Michael Hill (Australia), Mark Wright.
Kowloon Cantons
Ryan Campbell, Scott McKechnie, Simon Cook, Kabir Sodhi, Najeeb Amar, Babar Hayat, Ehsan Nawaz, Ashley Caddy, Akbar Khan, Michael Clarke (Australia), Simandeep Singh, Sandeep Lamichchane (Nepal), Tanveer Ahmed, Tim Cutler, Shahid Wasif.
Hung Hom JD Jaguars
Kinchit Shah, Nizakat Khan, Ankur Vasishta, Chris Carter, Daniyal Bukhari, Doraiswamy Subramanian (India), Farooq Saeed, Jangzeb Khan, Majinder Singh, Mudassar Hussain, Muhammed Naveed (UAE), Ninad Shah, Uzair Khan, Vinit Indulkar (India), Vishal Sharma.
GII Lantau Galaxy Riders
Anshuman Rath, Waqas Khan, Li Kai-ming, Mohsin Khan, Moner Ahmed, Anas Khan, Amandeep Singh, Sikandar Zafar, Hiren Patel, Mohammad Awais, Niaz Ali, Saurabh Passi (India), Neel Mani Jha (India), Harshit Verma (India), Narendra Chauhan (India).