The West Indies all-rounder, Kieron Pollard, is set to lead the MI Emirates franchise in the International League T20 (ILT20). At the same time, Rashid Khan will be the skipper of the MI Cape Town in the SA20 tournament.
UAE International League T20 will start on January 13, 2022. The players and franchises were announced a couple of months ago. However, leaders were not decided till December. The latest addition is Kieron Pollard the captain of the MI Emirates and Moeen Ali the captain of the Sharjah Warriors franchise in ILT20 2023.
MI Emirates team appoints Kieron Pollard as Captain in the first season of ILT20
Pollard took to social media to express his feelings on this news. He stated,
“I’m very excited about this opportunity to be captain of a new team. As the one leading the MI Emirates, I hope to share my experience and skills and help build a team that plays to win. MI is about passion, about giving cricket your all. For me 2023 is all about MI Emirates.”
MI Emirates retweeted Pollard’s tweet with the caption, “The perfect leader for our inaugural season.” They further stated, “Well said, skip.” Besides Pollard, the franchise consists of Imran Tahir, Nicholas Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, and Trent Boult, among other popular names.
Rashid Khan is also appointed to lead MI Cape Town in the SA20.
“MI Global today announced the captains for MI Emirates and MI Cape Town. Kieron Pollard and Rashid Khan will take over the captain’s duties for MI Emirates and MI Cape Town, respectively,”
“Mumbai Indians went global with the addition of teams in the T20 cricketing leagues of South Africa and UAE earlier this year. The new members of Mumbai Indians ‘One Family’ MI Emirates and MI Cape Town are set to debut in their inaugural seasons in January 2023. Both teams feature some of the best players from across global cricket and will look to replicate the MI ethos and focus that has helped Mumbai Indians be one of the most successful franchises in global cricket,”
Akash M. Ambani further stated, “I’m convinced that Kieron Pollard and Rashid will take forward the MI ethos and MI brand of cricket.”
Rashid Khan will lead a team of world-class players, like Rassie van der Dussen, Sam Curran, Dewald Brevis, Kagiso Rabada, and Liam Livingstone.
Summary
MI franchise named Kieron Pollard is the skipper of the MI Emirates in the UAE ILT20, and Rashid Khan appoints as captain of MI Cape Town in SA20. And both the MI Emirates and Cape Town teams are going to be led by capable captains. But how these franchises will perform is yet to be seen in the inaugural edition. The good news is that both SA20 and ILT20 tournaments are around the corner. So, the wait is not that long.