Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) is a professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the International League T20, a Men's Twenty20 franchise-based cricket league hosted by the Emirates Cricket Board.[2] The franchise is owned by the Knight Riders Group, a sporting subsidiary alliance between the Red Chillies Entertainment and the Mehta Group. [3] Their home ground is the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
| League | International League T20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | Sunil Narine[1] | |
| Coach | Bharathi Arun | |
| Owner | Knight Riders Group | |
| Chief executive | Venky Mysore | |
| Manager | Wayne Bentley | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Colours | Purple and Gold | |
| Founded | 2022 | |
| Home ground | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | |
| Capacity | 20,000 | |
| Official website | www | |
| ||
| Seasons |
|---|
| Knight Riders Group | |
|---|---|
| Current Teams | |
| Kolkata Knight Riders (2008-present) X 3 (2012, 2014, 2024) Trinbago Knight Riders (2015-present) X 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020) Trinbago Knight Riders Women (2022-present) X 1 (2022) Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (2023-present) Los Angeles Knight Riders (2023-present) | |
| Defunct Teams | |
| Cape Town Knight Riders (2017) |
Franchise history
In August 2022, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) announced the establishment of the International League T20, a Twenty20 Cricket competition to be started in 2023. The teams for the competition, representing 6 different cities of United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi, were put up on auction in UAE in September 2022. The Abu Dhabi franchise was purchased & revealed by Kolkata Knight Riders, part of Knight Riders Franchise. The team unveiled their logo and jersey in January 2023, through their social media handles.
Home ground
The Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi (with the two ends of the crease called the North End and the Pavilion End) is serving as the home ground of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. It is operated by the Emirates Cricket Board and is the third-oldest cricket stadium in the country. It is also the second-largest stadium in the United Arab Emirates in terms of crowd capacity with the stadium having over 20,000 seats. In 2021, The stadium hosted some matches of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup as the tournament was shifted to UAE after the original hosts India were unable to host the tournament due to the outbreak of second-wave of COVID-19 among the whole country. The stadium also served as the home ground for the Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2020 and 2021 editions respectively.
Captains
| Player[lower-alpha 1] | Tenure | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Narine | 2023-Present | 20 | 5 | 14 | - | 1 | 26.32 | 4/8 (2024) |
| Andre Russell | 2024-2024 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 100.00 | Stand-In |
| Last Updated: 13 February 2024[4] | ||||||||
Statistics
Season summary
| Season | League standing | Final standing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6th out of 6 | League Stage | ||||
| 2024 | 3rd out of 6 | Playoffs | ||||
| Last Updated: 13 February 2024 | ||||||
Overall results
| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied | NR | Win % | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 10 | 1 | 8 | - | 1 | 11.11 | 6/6 |
| 2024 | 11 | 5 | 6 | - | - | 45.45 | 4/6 |
| Last Updated: 13 February 2024 | |||||||
Result summary
| Team | Span | Played | Won | Lost | NR | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Capitals | 2023-2024 | 5 | 1 | 4 | - | 20.00 |
| Desert Vipers | 2023-2024 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | 50.00 |
| Gulf Giants | 2023-2024 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 33.00 |
| MI Emirates | 2023-2024 | 4 | - | 4 | - | 00.00 |
| Sharjah Warriors | 2023-2024 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | 50.00 |
| Last Updated: 13 February 2024 | ||||||
Most runs
| Year | Player | Runs | Green Belt Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michael Pepper | 229 | 11 | |||
| 2024 | Andre Russell | 196 | 17 | |||
| Last Updated: 17 February 2024 | ||||||
Most wickets
| Year | Player | Wickets | White Belt Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Lahiru Kumara | 8 | 17 | |||
| 2024 | Imad Wasim | 11 | 12 | |||
| Last Updated: 17 February 2024 | ||||||
Current squad
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmens | |||||
| 48 | Sam Hain | England | 16 July 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break |
| Alishan Sharafu | United Arab Emirates | 10 January 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 32 | Laurie Evans | England | 12 October 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break |
| Wicket-Keepers | |||||
| 19 | Michael Pepper | England | 25 June 1998 | Right-handed | — |
| 33 | Joe Clarke | England | 26 May 1996 | Right-handed | — |
| Andries Gous | United States | 24 November 1993 | Right-handed | — | |
| All-rounders | |||||
| 74 | Sunil Narine (c) | Trinidad and Tobago | 26 May 1988 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break |
| Charith Asalanka | Sri Lanka | 29 June 1997 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Ravi Bopara | England | 4 May 1985 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 12 | Andre Russell | Jamaica | 29 April 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium |
| 15 | David Willey | England | 28 February 1990 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium |
| Brandon McMullen | Scotland | 18 October 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 9 | Imad Wasim | Pakistan | 18 December 1988 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox |
| Bowlers | |||||
| 82 | Josh Little | Ireland | 1 November 1999 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast-medium |
| Ali Khan | United States | 13 December 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
Administration and support staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| CEO and Managing Director | Venky Mysore |
| Team manager | Wayne Bentley |
| Head coach | Bharat Arun |
| Assistant coach | Ryan ten Doeschate |
| Analyst | AR Srikkanth |
| Physio | Prasanth Panchada |
| Bowling coach | Ravi Rampaul |
| Throw down specialist | Saurabh Ambatkar |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Sagar M. |
Knight Riders Group
Knight Riders Group also include the following teams in various T-20 format leagues and championships:-
Notes
- The information in the nationality column is according to ESPNcricinfo. This information may not necessarily reflect the player's birthplace or citizenship.
References
- "SUNIL NARINE APPOINTED SKIPPER OF ABU DHABI KNIGHT RIDERS FOR THE UPCOMING ILT20 LEAGUE IN UAE". adkriders. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- "Knight Riders Acquires Abu Dhabi Franchise in the New T20 League in UAE". Kolkata Knight Riders. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- "ILT20 brings 'Smartball's' 'Smarter Play' technology to its inaugural tournament". www.adkriders.com. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- "Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Captains". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 May 2024.