Scorchers, Hurricanes missing stars

The KFC T20 Big Bash League’s two representatives have named their sides for the upcoming T20 Champions League, to be held in India from September 13.

As expected, Hobart Hurricanes and Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey will turn out for his Indian Premier League side, which means he will face his BBL side in their opening match.

Hobart Hurricanes: Tim Paine, Jon Wells, Evan Gulbis, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Dom Michael, Sam Rainbird, Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Boyce, Joe Mennie, Ben Laughlin, Ben Dunk, Shoaib Malik

Hurricanes fixtures
Friday September 19, 12.30am (AEST) v Kings XI Punjab
Sunday September 21, 8.30pm (AEST) v Cape Cobras
Wednesday September 24, 12.30am (AEST) v TBD
Sunday September 28, 8.30pm (AEST) v Barbados Tridents

Meanwhile, Perth Scorchers coach Justin Langer said his squad would be better for the experience of last year’s Champions League tournament, in which they went winless.

“I’m really excited that most of these guys got to experience the Champions League in India last year,” Langer told perthscorchers.com.au.

“Last year’s experience was a real eye-opener and we’ll be looking to learn from that and, hopefully, we’ll be better off for it.

“We’re obviously missing a lot of our players who featured in the team that won the BBL Final for us.

“That said, we’re in a good position with players we do have to improve on our performances from last year.”

The Scorchers will be without BBL|03 final winners Simon Katich (retired), Shaun Marsh (elbow injury), Alfonso Thomas (not released by county side) and Pat Cummins (elected to play with IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders).

Perth Scorchers: Ashton Agar, Yasir Arafat, Michael Beer, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brad Hogg, Simon Mackin, Mitchell Marsh, Joel Paris, Craig Simmons, Ashton Turner, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman

Scorchers fixtures
Saturday September 20, 8:30pm AEST v Dolphins
Thursday September 25, 12:30am AEST v Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunday September 28, 12:30am AEST v Chennai Super Kings
Tuesday September 30, 8:30pm AEST v TBD

Other high-profile Australians in action include Bailey's Punjab team-mates Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell, the latter of whom was a genuine star of IPL7, clubbing 552 runs at a ridiculous strike-rate of 187.75 – including a tournament-high 36 sixes – to win the Most Valuable Player award.

GROUPS

Group A: Kolkata Knight Riders, Dolphins, Perth Scorchers, Chennai Super Kings, Qualifier.
Group B: Kings XI Punjab, Cape Cobras, Hobart Hurricanes, Champion side from the West Indies, Qualifier.
Qualifiers: Q1 – Lahore Lions, Q2 – Mumbai Indians, Q3 – Northern Knights, Q4 – Southern Express.
Q1/Q3 will enter Group A if either of them makes it to the Group Stage. Q2/Q4 will enter Group B if either of them makes it to the Group Stage.
If Q1 and Q3 both make it to the Group Stage, then Q1 will enter Group A and Q3 will enter Group B. If Q2 and Q4 both make it to the Group Stage, then Q2 will enter Group B and Q4 will enter Group A.

Remaining squads

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, R. Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Pawan Negi, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, John Hastings, Brendon McCullum, Samuel Badree, Francois Du Plessis

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins, Andre Russell

Northern Knights: Ish Sodhi, Jono Boult, Brad Wilson, Kane Williamson, Daniel Flynn, BJ Watling, Graeme Aldridge, Anton Devcich, Tim Southee, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Daniel Harris, Scott Styris, Trent Boult, Daniel Vettori

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey, Thisara Perera, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Akshar Rajesh Patel, Karanveer Singh, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha, Anureet Singh, Parvinder Awana

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar, Aditya Tare, Jalaj Saxena, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Mike Hussey, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Marchant De Lange, Lendl Simmons

Southern Express: Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunatilake, Angelo Perera, Jehan Mubarak, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perara, Prasanna Seekuge, Ishan Jayaratne, Farvees Maharoof, Kasun Madushanka, Yasoda Lanka, Charith Jayampathi, Sachith Pathirana, Sandaken Lakshen, Dilshan T.M

Cape Cobras: Hashim Amla, J P Duminy, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Richard Levi, Aviwe Mgijima, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Zakhele Qwabe, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan Van Zyl, Dane Vilas

Lahore Lions: Mohammed Hafeez, Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Siddique Khan, Muhammad Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshaid, Muhammad Salman Ali, Asif Raza, Muhammad Mustafa Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Bin Ilyas Cheema, Imran Ali, Saad Naseem, Adnan Rasool, Muhammad Saeed, Ali Manzoor

Dolphins: Daryn Smit, Daryn Miles Dupavillon, Cody Chetty, Vaughn Bernard Van Jaarsveld, Khayelihle Zondo, Robert Frylinck, Morne Nico Van Wyk, Kyle John Abbott, Craig John Alexander, Jonathan David Vandiar, Keshav Athmanand Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen, Cameron Scott Delport, Andile Lucky Phehlukwayo, Bongumusa Sibonelo Makhanya

Barbados Tridents: Shane Dowrich, Jeevan Mendis, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Neil Mckenzie, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Rayad Emrit, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, William Perkins, James Franklin, Elton Chigumbura, Dilshan Munaweera