– DafaNews Summer T20 Bash to be played at the ICC Academy October 5th through to October 10th 2021 –
– Participating teams include Ireland, Scotland, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and hosts UAE –
Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and ITW, on behalf of Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, Cricket Namibia, and Cricket Papua New Guinea, are delighted to announce the ‘DafaNews Summer T20 Bash’.
To be played at the ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City (Dubai) from Tuesday October 5th through to Sunday October 10th 2021, participating teams include Ireland, Scotland, Namibia, Papua New Guinea as well as hosts UAE.
The tournament will be contested through a 7-match T20 series which will see the UAE playing three T20i against Ireland, and one against Namibia. Scotland will play two games against Papua New Guinea and Namibia, while Papua New Guinea & Namibia will lock horns in one T20i. In a welcomed and encouraging move, Sony Ten Sports Network will broadcast the UAE-specific matches for the first time.
Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary Emirates Cricket Board, said “Emirates Cricket Board is very pleased to welcome Ireland, Scotland, Namibia and Papua New Guinea to the UAE and we are delighted to host the ‘DafaNews Summer T20 Bash’. This is a great opportunity for these participating teams to fine-tune their T20 skills as they approach their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup matches, and for our (UAE) team to gain experience from once again facing an ICC test-nation who will be highly motivated in putting their skills and experience on display. We look forward to a highly competitive series on home soil.”
Photo Credit: LinkedIn profile photo of Mubashshir Usmani
Nikos Diakoumopoulous, Managing Director, DafaNews said, “We are happy to associate for upcoming T20 series with ITW and the Emirate Cricket Board. After having associated with various cricket boards, we have stepped into the region and this would be our second partnership after the recently concluded DafaNews Cup in Oman. This T20 festive season we are hoping to see a great contest amongst all the playing Teams.”
Vivek Chandra, Director, ITW Global confirmed that the Tournament would have Dafa News, as Title Sponsors. He said; “We value our (ITW’s) partnership with the Emirate Cricket Board, and this would be a great opportunity for the UAE Team in particular and cricket in general in the region. For the upcoming series we are pleased to confirm Live telecast of these matches will be on Sony Ten Sports Network in India; Free Sports in UK; Geo Super in Pakistan; CricLife in UAE while we discussing with other broadcast partners as well”
Robin Singh, Director of Cricket, Emirates Cricket added; “This series is a great opportunity to see where we (UAE) stand against a team that is not only a test nation but a team that has been preparing to compete at one of the highest levels of international cricket being the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Last time we faced Ireland our matches were impacted by CoVid and the team was performing extremely well, in announcing this series the players are energized and looking forward to the start (of the series) and putting in another strong performance.” “We are looking at bringing in a number of younger players, based on merit, into the squad and have been focused on developing this group over the past 6 to 7 months. With so much cricket being played across the UAE at the moment, interest in the game is high and the eyes of the cricketing world are already on us, so we are presented with a great platform for other players, teams and administrators to see what the UAE is capable of.”
