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Cricket stars confirm return to DP World ILT20 for season 4

Rovman Powell will once again represent reigning champions Dubai Capitals in Season 4 of the DP World International League T20. (Deepak Malik/ILT20)
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Updated 07 July 2025
Arab News
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Cricket stars confirm return to DP World ILT20 for season 4

  • Salt, Hales, Hasaranga, Powell, Curran, Ferguson, Farooqi, David, and Sikandar will take part in the UAE-based T20 league
  • DP World International League T20 season 4 will feature 6 teams across a 34-match tournament, with the final on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026
Updated 07 July 2025
Arab News

DUBAI: For the fourth consecutive season, some of the biggest T20 superstars from around the world will feature in the DP World International League T20.

England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 winners Alex Hales, Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Phil Salt and Sam Curran (Season 3 Red Belt Winner — Most Valuable Player) will again display their talent in the Gulf region’s biggest T20 tournament.

Besides the star-studded England lineup, West Indies mega stars Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sherfane Rutherford and Shai Hope (season three Green Belt Winner — Best Batter of the Tournament) will also return to their respective franchises.

Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza and Afghanistan’s premier new-ball bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi (Season 3 White Belt Winner — Best Bowler of the Tournament) will ake part in the month-long competition. Australia’s big-hitting batter Tim David and New Zealand’s fast bowling duo Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee have also declared their availability for Season 4.  

The teams have now completed the halfway stage in the squads’ selection process for Season 4 (eight players each). The first phase for the squad selection included the retention window for players from Season 3 and the new signings window which finished on June 16 and 30, respectively.

In the second phase of the Season 4 squad selection process, the teams will complete their respective squads at the DP World ILT20 Season 4 Player Auction, with date and details to be announced in the next few days.

Defending champions Dubai Capitals have added more depth to their bowling stocks by including Season 2 White Belt Winner — Afghanistan left-arm-wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil as a new signing (previous team MI Emirates) alongside left-arm pacers Luke Wood (previous team Desert Vipers) and Muhammad Jawadullah (previous team Sharjah Warriorz).  

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have added firepower to their batting with three explosive T20 batters Alex Hales (previous team Desert Vipers), Liam Livingstone (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) and Sherfane Rutherford (previous team Desert Vipers).

The Desert Vipers have included former ADKR opener Andries Gous as their new signing; the Season 1 and Season 3 finalists have retained the core of their Season 3 squad. Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga will be rejoining the Vipers for Season 4.

Season 1 winners Gulf Giants have signed Afghanistan’s globally recognized all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who will be making his DP World ILT20 debut this season while donning the Giants kit as one of their new signings. England’s Moeen Ali (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) returns to the DP World ILT20, the T20 great will be playing for the Giants as a new signing. Dashing Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the other new Giants’ Season 4 signing.

Gurbaz’s earlier DP World ILT20 stints were with Sharjah Warriorz (Season 1), Dubai Capitals (Season 2) and Desert Vipers (Season 3).

Season 2 winners MI Emirates have added all-round strength to their squad by including the all-format all-rounder — Chris Woakes (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) as a new signing. Sri Lanka’s upcoming all-rounder Kamindu Mendis is the other MI Emirates new signing for Season 4. Mendis will be making his DP World ILT20 debut.

Sharjah Warriorz have added Sikandar Raza (previous team Dubai Capitals). The globetrotting Zimbabwean all-rounder was the Season 2 Red Belt Winner — Most Valuable Player. Sri Lanka’s star white-ball spinner Maheesh Theekshana returns to the side as a new signing. He had appeared in eight games for the Warriorz in Season 2 of the DP World ILT20.

Warriorz have also bolstered their batting prowess for Season 4 with the inclusion of Australia’s big-hitting batter Tim David as a new signing. David played for MI Emirates in Season 1 and the Gulf Giants in Season 2. USA left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar has also joined the Warriorz.

The DP World International League T20 Season 4 will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 2 — UAE National Day (Eid-Al-Etihad) with a blockbuster opening, the six-team, 34-match tournament will conclude with the final on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.

 DP World ILT20 Season 4 — players rejoining their Season 3 teams:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine.

Desert Vipers: Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Dubai Capitals: Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Gulbadin Naib, Rovmann Powell and Shai Hope.

Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan, Blessing Muzarabani, Gerhard Erasmus, James Vince and Mark Adair.

MI Emirates: AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kusal Perera, Romario Shepherd, Tom Banton and Muhammad Waseem.

Sharjah Warriorz: Johnson Charles,  Kusal Mendis, Tim Southee and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.

DP World ILT20 Season 4 — new signings:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alex Hales, Liam Livingstone and Sherfane Rutherford.

Desert Vipers: Andries Gous.

Dubai Capitals: Luke Wood, Waqar Salamkheil and Muhammad Jawadullah.

Gulf Giants: Azmatullah Omarzai, Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

MI Emirates: Chris Woakes and Kamindu Mendis.

Sharjah Warriorz: Maheesh Theekshana, Sikandar Raza, Saurabh Netravalkar and Tim David.

Topics: DP World International League T20

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Humbert stuns Tsitsipas as defending champion exits Dubai in first round

Updated 5 sec ago
Arab News
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Humbert stuns Tsitsipas as defending champion exits Dubai in first round

  • Last year’s winner lost in straight sets to the 2024 champion
  • Ugo Humbert will now play the 2022 champion, Andrey Rublev, on Wednesday
Updated 5 sec ago
Arab News

DUBAI: Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday night, falling in the first round to 2024 title-winner Ugo Humbert under the bright lights of the center court.

The 4-6, 5-7 defeat at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium means the 27-year-old Greek, who left the court with his head bowed, will drop outside the world top 40 for the first time in almost eight years.

The first-round meeting between the two unseeded Dubai champions caught the eye as soon as the main draw took place on Saturday for this week’s ATP 500 tournament. Only seven world ranking places separated the pair and the lower-ranked Humbert, at No. 37, edged the pre-match head-to-head record at 3-1. Tsitsipas has not yet progressed beyond the quarterfinals across five events since the start of the year.

“It was a funny first round — the two last winners of the tournament,” said Humbert, who beat Alexander Bublik in the final here two years ago. “It’s so good to be back where I won the tournament. I have such good memories, and it was a tough battle tonight.”

From the first exchanges, both players dominated their service games with remarkable ease. Tsitsipas only conceded two points in his first four, while Humbert was forced to deuce in just one game. Yet as the scoreline progressed in undramatic fashion to 5-4 to Humbert, and with Tsitsipas’ majestic topspin backhand starting to purr, the Greek’s serve deserted him when he needed it most.

Fewer than 24 hours after he had enjoyed a Ramadan cultural experience that saw him don a dark blue kandura to eat the fast-breaking iftar meal, Tsitsipas demonstrated the season’s spirit of generosity by gifting Humbert a pair of double-faults, an unforced error and, ultimately, the opening set.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Tsitsipas unable to change the course of the match. Humbert conceded two break points in the first game yet found the resolve to dig deep and hold on. The set stayed on serve for 11 consecutive games until, with Humbert 6-5 up and Tsitsipas serving to stay in the tournament, another two wasteful forehands by the three-time finalist handed Humbert two match points.

The Frenchman took the victory at the first opportunity as Tsitsipas’ third unforced forehand error in sequential points sealed his fate.

“I think today, it was a big battle,” said Humbert. “We both served very well, and I had just a few opportunities and I did it, so I’m super happy. It’s nice to come back to play again on this beautiful court. I have such a nice feeling when I play here and it’s nice to be in (the) second round.”

Next up for Humbert is 2022 champion Andrey Rublev, who eased past France’s Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-4. The energetic Muscovite shuttled around Center Court like a man incapable of letting a ball past him, with more than one seemingly impossible return sent safely back by the 28-year-old.

Royer saved eight second-set break points by the time he levelled the set at 2-2, but Rublev’s serving was at times unplayable. His shot selection must have left his opponent bewildered as he mixed impudent drop shots with returnable volleys at the net.

“It was a great win for me because I knew very well in our first meeting, I lost,” said Rublev. “[Royer’s] a great fighter, and I’m really happy that I was able to take that challenge and go through in straight sets. When you play so late, to have some time to recover before the next match is so important.”

On facing Humbert, he added: “It’s going to be great for me to see my level because Ugo is a great player. He’s hitting the ball really hard; he’s getting better and better, and always fights until the end, playing super aggressive and hitting bombs from all over the place. He’s won here in the past too, so it’s going to be an interesting fight.”

Earlier in the day, eighth seed Jiri Lehecka survived losing the first set to Lucky Loser Luca Nardi — a late injury replacement for France’s Arthur Fils — by recovering to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The Czech world No. 22 will face Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday after the qualifier disposed of Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4.

In the final game on New Court 1, sixth seed Jakub Mensik edged past Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4, 7-6 (7). Mensik will face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the world No. 47, who narrowly edged out Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Meanwhile on Court 2, world No. 25 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands — the highest-ranked player not seeded in Dubai this week — defeated Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen 6-3, 6-4 to set-up a mouthwatering second round match against second seed Alexander Bublik.

Elsewhere, Arthur Rinderknech also lost the first set en route to defeating Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The imposing Frenchman will play British fourth seed Jack Draper in the next round. The USA’s Jenson Brooksby, the world No. 49, dispatched Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 to seal a last-16 tie against seventh seed Karen Khachanov, who required three sets to eliminate Lucky Loser Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.

Topics: Ugo Humbert Stefanos Tsitsipas Dubai tennis

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