Ireland’s breakthrough star Jai Moondra has reaped the rewards of his memorable performances against India after being snapped up by Rotterdam Dockers with their opening pick in the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL) Draft on Thursday.
The Indian-born left-arm pacer announced himself on the international stage during Ireland’s historic 2-0 T20I series sweep over world champions India. Moondra starred with the ball throughout the series, claiming Player of the Series honours after dismantling India’s batting line-up in the second T20I with figures of 3 for 32. He had also made an instant impact on debut by dismissing Sanju Samson with the first ball of his international career.
Those performances made him one of the hottest prospects heading into the ETPL Draft, where Rotterdam Dockers wasted little time in securing the highly rated all-rounder as the first player in their squad.
The Dockers also strengthened their roster with Netherlands internationals Michael Levitt, Ryan Klein, Vikramjit Singh and Saqib Zulfiqar, alongside Scotland’s Jasper Davidson as they assembled a balanced squad for the league’s inaugural season.
JONTY RHODES PRAISES JAI MOONDRA
The ETPL reached a major milestone with the completion of its inaugural Player Draft, where six franchises selected 36 players, with 12 each coming from Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB).
Among the biggest stories of the draft was Moondra’s selection, underlining just how quickly the 29-year-old has risen after his heroics against India.
Rotterdam Dockers co-owner Jonty Rhodes explained why the franchise made Moondra their priority signing.
“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.”
MAXWELL, WAUGH HEADLINE LANDMARK ETPL DRAFT
The inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL) Draft marked a landmark moment for the competition, with six franchises finalising their squads under the guidance of some of the biggest names in world cricket.
Cricket legends Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Glenn Maxwell, Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen were among those involved as franchises completed the first-ever player selections in the league’s history.
Irish Wolves co-owner Glenn Maxwell expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the draft, highlighting the challenge of building a competitive squad from scratch.
“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.”
Amsterdam Flames co-owner Steve Waugh said the draft required franchises to remain flexible as picks unfolded.
“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.”
ETPL TEAMS AFTER DRAFT
Amsterdam Flames: Curtis Campher, Kyle Klein, Tim Pringle, Aryan Dutt, Jordan Neill and Max O’Dowd
Irish Wolves: Matthew Humphreys, Fred Klaassen, Tim Tector, Paul Stirling, Zainullah Ihsan and Alexander Roy
Dublin Guardians: Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Matthew Hollard, Craig Young, Noah Croes and Chris Greaves
Edinburgh Castle Rockers: Gareth Delany, Ross Adair, Jack Jarvis, Charlie Tear, Safyaan Sharif and Finlay McCreath
Glasgow Cosmic: Brad Currie, Matthew Cross, Paul van Meekeren, Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson and Chris McBride
Rotterdam Dockers: Jai Moondra, Michael Levitt, Ryan Klein, Jasper Davidson, Vikramjit Singh and Saqib Zulfiqar
– Ends
