The ICL's second season (third overall including the inaugural Indian and Edelweiss T20 international competitions) which kicks off here at the Lal Bahadur Stadium on Friday will be heavy on talents from the sub-continent and will showcase a fair amount of experience from cricket nations around the world. The Twenty20 league has gathered momentum ever since it was launched last year ahead of the Indian Premier League and this year Bangladesh come to the party to give it a decent international colour.

The Twenty20 event this year would feature nine city-based teams, including one from Lahore in Pakistan and the other from Dhaka in Bangladesh, competing for top honours. The 41 matches would be played in Hyderabad, Panchkula, Gurgaon and Ahmedabad.

The nine teams in the fray would be led by Damien Martyn (Ahmedabad Rockets), Chris Cairns (Chandigarh Lions), Stuart Law (Chennai Superstars), Marvan Atapattu (Delhi Giants), Habibul Bashar (Dhaka Warriors), Chris Harris (Hyderabad Heroes), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Lahore Badshahs), Nathan Astle (Mumbai Champs) and Craig McMillan (Royal Bengal Tigers).