ILT20 2023: Shah Rukh Khan-owned Abu Dhabi Knight Riders sign Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, check FULL squad HERE

Sunil Narine has turned out in 148 IPL matches in his career and scored 1,025 runs at a strike-rate of 162.7 and picked up 152 wickets.

Sunil Narine (from left), Jonny Bairstow and Andre Russell. (Source: Twitter)

Knight Riders announced the first 14 players of their Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) squad for UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20) on Tuesday (August 16). Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise signed on their West Indies all-rounders Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who turn out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Apart from them, they also signed out in-form England batter Jonny Bairstow, West Indies players Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul and Raymon Reifer.

 “Firstly it’s great to see that our global footprint continues to grow in line with our vision & strategy. KKR in IPL, TKR in CPL and now ADKR in the ILT20,” Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement.

“It’s also terrific that we have our mainstays – Sunil Narine and Andre Russell as part of ADKR. We are really delighted that Jonny Bairstow joins the Knight Riders family and will no doubt play a huge part in ADKR’s journey in ILT20. We are also delighted that Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Ali Khan, Colin Ingram and Seekuge Prasanna, who have been part of Trinbago Knight Riders before, are also a part of ADKR.

#ADKR Squad Announcement:
Meet the Knights for the inaugural #ILT20 season #KnightRiders@ILT20Official @EmiratesCricket pic.twitter.com/rOdAub8LYJ — Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (@ADKRiders) August 16, 2022

“A big welcome to Paul Stirling, Charith Asalanka, Kennar Lewis, Lahiru Kumara, Raymon Reifer and Brandon Glover to the Knight Riders family. The ILT20 promises to be an exciting tournament and we are looking forward to very competitive games and a lot of entertainment,” Mysore added.

ADKR squad for 2023 ILT20: Sunil Narine (Trinidad & Tobago/West Indies), Andre Russell (Jamaica/West Indies), Jonny Bairstow (England), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Lahiru Kumara (Sri Lanka), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Colin Ingram (South Africa), Akeal Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago/West Indies), Seekkuge Prasanna (Sri Lanka), Ravi Rampaul (Trinidad & Tobago/West Indies), Raymon Reifer (Barbados/West Indies), Kennar Lewis (Jamaica/West Indies), Ali Khan (United States of America), Brandon Glover (The Netherlands)

Narine has turned out in 148 IPL matches in his career and scored 1,025 runs at a strike-rate of 162.7 and picked up 152 wickets. While Andre Russell has 98 IPL matches under his belt with 2,035 runs at a strike-rate of 177.8 and also picked up 89 wickets.