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The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) begins its inaugural season on August 26. There have been some big names that have signed for the first edition of the tournament, which is set to take place in the Netherlands and Ireland. Ahead of the start of the tournament, Amsterdam Flames will miss their announced captain, Mitchell Marsh.
Amsterdam Flames is one of the league's six original franchises. The Flames are owned by former Australian cricketer Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer, and Australian businessman Tim Thomas. It has announced Ryan Cook as the head coach, and Mitchell Marsh, who was announced as the leader for the side for the first edition, has opted out of the tournament.
Mitchell Marsh to miss ETPL
As per the report from CODE Sports, Mitchell Marsh has opted out of the tournament to focus on Australia’s upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. He has been a key part of the white-ball setup for the Kangaroos, as he is the captain of the T20I side. He opens the innings in ODIs as well and will be crucial as Australia tours in Africa.
Now that Marsh is missing out, Scott Edwards, who is the skipper for the Netherlands National Cricket Team, will captain the side. Edwards also captains the side in the T20I format and has done well for the Dutch side in recent times. Though he is not as experienced as the Australian, he will have some good support from Ajinkya Rahane.
Ajinkya Rahane joins ETPL
Ajinkya Rahane, who has been a famous name across the world, joined the franchise soon after he announced his retirement from international cricket and Indian cricket. This is a new path for the cricketer who has had vast experience of playing and captaining in T20 cricket across the IPL and domestic format.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, who is also the owner of the ETPL franchise, praised Rahane joining their side as he believes that the former India batter has some amazing qualities in the form of skill, resilience, humility and leadership. These qualities of his will help the franchise to build a winning culture.
Scott Edwards replaces Mitchell Marsh as captain
There have been some big names that have been signed for the franchise: former Australia captain Steve Smith, hard-hitting batter Tim David, Michael Bracewell, David Payne, and Richard Gleeson. Apart from them, other cricketers are also in the squad.
The ETPL is a cross-border franchise T20 competition managed by the cricket boards of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands. The league has six teams, in the form of Amsterdam Flames, Belfast Wolves, Dublin Guardians, Edinburgh Castle Rockers, Glasgow Cosmic, and Rotterdam Dockers.
ETPL is set to begin on August 26 and consists of 30 league games, followed by a qualifier on September 19 and the final on September 20.
Amsterdam Flames ETPL updated Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Tim David, Michael Bracewell, David Payne, Richard Gleeson, Scott Edwards (captain), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, Tim Pringle, Curtis Campher, Dipendra Singh Airee, Yuvraj Samra, Ali Hasan, Jordan Neill.
