Record 27 overseas players set to participate in Hong Kong T20 Blitz

The third edition of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz will commence on February 6 with five teams battling it out for the ultimate glory. Hung Hom JD Jaguars, Kowloon Cantons, City Kaitak, Galaxy Gladiators Lantau and Hong Kong Island Unite are the teams which will take part in the competition. The local talent is set to rub the shoulders with some of the legends in the game of cricket. This year total 27 overseas players are set to represent their respective teams as the tournament will also be telecast live.

Moreover, 10 cricketers from abroad including the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Smith have returned to play after featuring in the last season as well. This time around, the competition is extended by a day scrapping the concept of playing a triple header on Saturday. The final of the tournament will be played on February 11 as all the matches will be played at the Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok.

Sangakkara excited to play again

Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lankan legend, expressed his delight over being able to return to play the Hong Kong T20 Blitz. “I loved the previous season of the Blitz, and cannot wait to represent Gladiators for the second time running. I’m super excited to get back with the team. I loved the Hong Kong experience and vibe and to come again and play with the home-grown talent in front of such enthusiastic supporters is something I am looking forward to,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Country.

Even the likes of Wahab Riaz, Samuel Badree, Jofra Archer are set to feature in their maiden stint of the tournament. While Wahab was snaffled by the defending champions Kowloon Cantons, Badree will play for City Kaitak. There is also a fresh addition of players from associate nations as Kyle Coetzer, Scotland cricketer, as being picked by the same franchise.

The competition is a great opportunity for the young locals to learn a lot from the overseas cricketers.

Here’s the list of overseas cricketers playing in the tournament team-wise:

City Kaitak: Samuel Badree (WI), Rayad Emrit (WI), Sohail Tanvir (Pak), Ravi Bopara (Eng), Kyle Coetzer (Sco)

Galaxy Gladiators Lantau: Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Seekkuge Prasanna (SL), James Franklin (NZ), Cameron Delport (RSA), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Chetan Suryawanshi (SGP)

Hong Kong Island United

Kamran Akmal (Pak), Mohammad Irfan (Pak), David Wiese (RSA), Luke Ronchi (NZ), Hussain Talat (Pak), Ryan Ten Doeschate (NED)

Hung Hom JD Jaguars

Overseas players: Darren Sammy (WI), Ben Laughlin (Aus), Riki Wessels (Eng), Johan Botha (RSA/Sydney Sixers), Roelof van der Merwe (Ned)

Follow CricTracker for more updates