ILT20 2024: Woakes spills beans on new Rajasthan Royals recruit and Sharjah Warriors captain Kohler-Cadmore

It’s been a week since the second season of the International League T20 (ILT20) got underway in the United Arab Emirates, with defending champions Gulf Giants beginning their campaign with a 31-run victory over Sharjah Warriors.

Eight matches have taken place so far in the tournament which has witnessed some extraordinary performances already — from explosive knocks from the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Johnson Charles to super spells from Maheesh Theekshana and Trent Boult — and MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals currently find themselves on top of the pile with four points each.

Sharjah Warriors, who had finished a disappointing fifth out of six teams in the last season began their campaign on an indifferent note last Friday but bounced back right after with a five-wicket victory against the Capitals on Monday. The Warriors, led by senior English all-rounder Moeen Ali last season, started off with a hat-trick of defeats and were left playing catch-up for the remainder of the season. That, is something that they will be hoping to avoid this time around, and their victory on Monday certainly would have brought them back on that path.

English all-rounder Chris Woakes is part of the action in the second season of ILT20, having linked up with the Warriors squad following England’s tour of the West Indies in December. Woakes had struck a half-century and collected seven wickets in six outings at an economy slightly above seven last season. And he has already made an impact in the two games this season — collecting two wickets and cracking an unbeaten 22 off 13 deliveries against the Giants and following it up with an economical 2/21.

Chris Woakes with the ball