International League T20: Star Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been recruited by Sharjah Warriors ahead of the inaugural season of United Arab Emirates’ International League T20 which is slated to commence later this month.
The ongoing month of January is completely bustling with T20 leagues around the globe and, the newfangled International League T20 is all set to jar with competitions such as SA20, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, and New Zealand Super Smash League.
The 33-year-old Marcus Stoinis is presently swamped with Big Bash League duties serving as the deputy for Adam Zampa-led Melbourne Stars, who is momentarily marooned at the bottom of the points table.
As International League T20 is ready to clash with the Big Bash League, the all-rounder Marcus Stoinis would only make a brief appearance in the penultimate round of the tournament for Sharjah Warriors as he is contracted to participate in the entire season of the Big Bash.
It is a Massive Opportunity for Me at a Tournament Like This: Marcus Stoinis
The right-handed Marcus Stoinis is the first-ever centrally contracted Australian player to take part in the tournament. Besides Stoinis, the pyrotechnic top-order batter Chris Lynn is another Australian to contest in the league but the north paw is not enclosed by the national contiguity. Nonetheless, the Brisbane-based cricketer would represent Gulf Giants in the inaugural season of the league.
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Marcus Stoinis in a conversation with Fox Sports said, “It‘s a massive opportunity for me personally to notch up some crucial playing time at a tournament like this in the UAE ahead of a busy year that’s going to be full of cricket.”
“These are extremely exciting times for international franchise cricket and I am glad to be playing a part of a team like Sharjah Warriors in the league’s history-making inaugural edition. I just can‘t wait to team up with some of the world’s best all-rounders in the Sharjah Warriors squad,” Stoinis added.
Marcus Stoinis has been mightily cultivated in the shortest format featuring in 8 T20 franchises over the years, half of them being Indian Premier League-based teams. In his overall Twenty20 career, Marcus Stoinis has aggregated 3,662 runs in 154 innings at a strike rate of 134.3 which includes 21 half-centuries and 1 century to his credit. Moreover, the right-arm-medium pacer has also claimed 78 scalps in 100 innings at an average of 27.
Complete Sharjah Warriors Squad:
Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Naveen-ul-Haq, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Chris Benjamin, Danny Briggs, Mark Deyal, Bilal Khan, JJ Smit, and Marcus Stoinis.
The Moeen Ali-led Sharjah Warriors would kick-start their International League T20 campaign on 14th January against the Kieron Pollard-led MI Emirates at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The stage is set for UAE’s first-ever T20 league and stars such as Robin Uthappa, Jonny Bairstow, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell will set ablaze in the tournament. Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will set the tournament in motion on January 13th at Dubai International Stadium.
