Joe Root, Dushmantha Chameera among 5 players retained by Dubai Capitals for ILT20 2023/24

Dubai Capitals (DC) announced their list of retained players for the next season of International League T20 (ILT20) on Monday, July 10. Joe Root, Dushmantha Chameera, Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza, and Raja Akif are the five names who will continue to don the DC colors in ILT20 2023/24.

ILT20 was launched by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) in June last year. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held earlier this year in the United Arab Emirates from January 13 to February 12. Six teams, namely Gulf Giants, Dubai Capitals, Sharjah Warriors, Desert Vipers, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, and MI Emirates, participated in the competition.

Some big names of world cricket participated in ILT20, where Gulf Giants emerged as the inaugural champions. Franchises have started their planning for the next season, with the Capitals announcing their list of retained players today.

"Blockbuster Entertainment Guaranteed. Presenting our retained players for #DPWorldILT20Season 2️⃣ 😎 Get ready to #SoarHighDubai #WeAreCapitals," DC wrote on Instagram.

Dubai finished fourth in the points table of the inaugural International League T20 tournament. They won four out of their 10 league-stage matches. MI Emirates defeated them by six wickets in the Eliminator to knock them out of the competition.

Dubai Capitals have not retained Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan

Dubai Capitals v Abu Dhabi Knight Riders - DP World ILT20 2023 (Image: Getty)

Interestingly, Dubai have released their captain Yusuf Pathan and star Indian batter Robin Uthappa. Pathan scored 60 runs in 10 matches for DC last season, while Uthappa aggregated 218 runs in nine innings. Even Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka, England all-rounder Ravi Bopara and West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen are absent from the list of retained players.

The Draft for ILT20 2023/24 will take place later this year. It will be interesting to see which new players join the Capitals for the next season.