The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) reached a key milestone with the completion of its inaugural Player Draft, as six franchises assembled their opening squads by selecting 36 players – 12 each from Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB).
Players were evenly distributed across the six teams. Dutch talent was largely scooped up by Amsterdam Flames and Rotterdam Dockers, while Edinburgh Castle Rockers and Glasgow Cosmic drafted nine of the 12 Scottish players. Dublin Guardians and Belfast Wolves together claimed seven of the 12 Irish picks.
Headline selections included Rotterdam Dockers using their opening pick to secure rising Irish all-rounder Jai Moondra. Moondra, one of Ireland’s most promising prospects, turned heads during the T20I series against India with his wicket-taking ability. The Dockers further strengthened their roster by drafting Netherlands internationals Michael Levitt, Ryan Klein, Vikramjit Singh and Saqib Zulfiqar, along with Scotland’s Jasper Davidson.
Belfast Wolves added seasoned Ireland international Paul Stirling and emerging left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys, injecting proven experience into their inaugural squad.
R Ashwin, Captain and Mentor, Dublin Guardians, explained the team’s selection strategy: “While majority of our picks were Irish, I think nationality comes second; it’s about the quality of the player and how they will fit into our mix. I do believe that, going into an auction or a draft, every single player that you pick must be a playable resource. Of course, there must be an exciting amount of skill that they put on display, but they must be very playable. If a player is unavailable, somebody should be able to seamlessly come in and fill up that role.”
Jonty Rhodes, Co-Owner, Rotterdam Dockers, on their marquee choice: “Jai Moondra was someone we were particularly keen to bring into the squad after the way he has announced himself on the international stage. He is an exciting young talent with tremendous potential, and we’re delighted to have secured him. Alongside Jai, we’ve put together a really exciting group of players from across Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. We believe we have a strong, balanced squad with the depth and quality to be highly competitive, and we’re looking forward to seeing them come together when the league gets underway.”
ETPL Draft Players List
Amsterdam Flames: Curtis Campher, Kyle Klein, Tim Pringle, Aryan Dutt, Jordan Neill, Max O’Dowd
Irish Wolves: Matthew Humphreys, Fred Klaassen, Tim Tector, Paul Stirling, Zainullah Ihsan, Alexander Roy
Dublin Guardians: Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Matthew Hollard, Craig Young, Noah Croes, Chris Greaves
Edinburgh Castle Rockers: Gareth Delany, Ross Adair, Jack Jarvis, Charlie Tear, Safyaan Sharif, Finlay McCreath
Glasgow Cosmic: Brad Currie, Matthew Cross, Paul van Meekeren, Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Chris McBride
Rotterdam Dockers: Jai Moondra, Michael Levitt, Ryan Klein, Jasper Davidson, Vikramjit Singh, Saqib Zulfiqar
The inaugural draft marks an important chapter for ETPL as franchises – backed by cricket luminaries such as Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Maxwell and Jonty Rhodes – complete their first-player selections.
Glenn Maxwell, Co-Owner, reflected on the Irish Wolves’ picks: “Incredibly happy with how the draft went. It’s a new experience for me to be involved in starting a team from scratch. To go through the risk management process, building a squad and a team that we can put on the park and be really competitive has been a really great experience. Really happy how the draft went, we were able to get the picks that we needed, the playing skills we needed to give ourselves depth as well.”
Steve Waugh, Co-Owner, Amsterdam Flames, added: “The first couple of choices were the players we wanted. And we knew after that we would have to think on our feet, improvise and see what the other teams were going to pick. Being the first choice (first team in the draft sequence) there’s a big gap between some of the selections. You have to wait and see what goes on in front of you. We were all talking offline to make sure what the next selection is going to be.”
With squads now finalised, focus turns to the ETPL’s inaugural season, which aims to showcase top cricketing talent from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands and give emerging players the chance to compete alongside established international stars.
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