Former India batter Robin Uthappa, 37, has joined the Dubai Capitals ahead of the inaugural edition of the United Arab Emirates’ International League T20.
Uthappa, a key member of India’s T20 World Cup 2007 triumph under MS Dhoni, represented the country in 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is between 2006 and 2015, before announcing his retirement from all forms of international and Indian cricket in September this year.
He played 205 Indian Premier League matches between 2008 and 2022, and aggregated 4952 runs at an average of 27.51 and a strike rate of 130.35, with 27 half-centuries to his name. He was the leading run-scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in their victorious 2014 campaign, and was also a key presence for Chennai Super Kings in their fourth title win in 2021.
“As classy as it gets at Dubai Capitals. Here’s welcoming Robbie to our family, now eager to see a few dancing down-the-track shots at the Dubai International,”
tweeted Dubai Capitals on Thursday.
Rovman Powell, Dushmantha Chameera, Hazratullah Zazai, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Daniel Lawrence are some of the key international players in the Dubai Capitals setup.
“This is a very exciting time for the league and, collectively, we are delighted to announce the 2023 ILT20 playing schedule. To have superstars such as Dubai Capital’s Dasun Shanaka and Abu Dhabi Knight Rider’s Andre Russell open their teams’ accounts is very exciting,”
said Mubashshir Usmani, the general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board.
The ILT20 2022-23 will kickstart on January 13, with the final likely to be played on February 12.