Andre Russell, Mohammad Amir and David Warner among retained players for ILT20

While the T20 World Cup is still going on in the Caribbean, preparations have already started for the next season of the DP World International League T20 in the UAE with a number of star players lining up to feature in the tournament.

On Friday, organisers announced that franchises had retained a total of 69 players for the third season which begins on January 11 and concludes on February 9 next year, with matches taking place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

Some of the top T20 talent in the world will head to the UAE early next year to take part in a tournament that has quickly become one of the most lucrative in the sport. They include star West Indies all-rounders and IPL champions Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, Aussie veteran David Warner, Sri Lankan star Wanindu Hasaranga, Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir and bunch of other T20 heavyweights.

Since the tournament is the showpiece event of UAE cricket, local players will once again get an opportunity to rub shoulders with the biggest names in cricket.

They include UAE T20 regulars like Muhammad Waseem, Junaid Siddique, Aayan Afzal Khan, Alishan Sharafu and many more.

All six franchises were allowed to retain up to two UAE players each. Now they must sign a minimum of two more players to complete their quota of four UAE signings after the completion of the ILT20 Development Tournament which will be held in October.

MI Emirates lifted the ILT20 crown earlier this year when they defeated Dubai Capitals by 45 runs. UAE captain Waseem stole the show in the final, smashing 43 from 24 balls to help post a match-winning total of 208-3.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Aditya Shetty (UAE), Ali Khan, Alishan Sharafu (UAE), Andre Russell, Andries Ghous, Charith Asalanka, David Willey,