Abu Dhabi, Sep 20 (IANS) Abu Dhabi T10, the world's only ten-over cricket league to be officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), on Friday welcomed its newest team -- Bangla Tigers -- who are poised to compete in this year's event, which opens on November 14.

The addition of a marquee team representing the strong cricketing tradition of Bangladesh reaffirms the international flavour of the Abu Dhabi T10, and is sure to strike a chord among the 700,000+ Bangladeshi residents who make up the third largest expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates.

Welcoming the new team and its owners, Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of Abu Dhabi T10, said: "You can hardly speak of cricket without mentioning great Bangladeshi players like Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. So, obviously we are pleased to welcome aboard the Bangla Tigers who will certainly represent the best spirit of Bangladesh cricket."

The two owners -- Bangladeshi businessmen Yasin Chowdhury and Sirajuddin Alam -- leveraged their combined decade-long association with sport together with a lifelong love of cricket in order to make their dream of owning a team a reality.

"It's a proud day for us and I hope for all Bangladesh fans to announce our Bangla Tigers team. We thank the league's founder Shaji Ul Mulk and the other owners and we hope audiences will embrace our team's fighting spirit as we pledge to do our best to compete for the Abu Dhabi T10," said Chowdhury, Chairman of FMC Group and Owner of Bangla Tigers.

His co-owner Sirajuddin Alam said: "We are working to build a formidable team in which a number of Bangladeshi cricketers are expected to play. We know that having a rooting interest in a team that competes and succeeds abroad on a global stage like the Abu Dhabi T10 can really spur the growth of the game among youth and domestic players, so the stakes for us go far beyond a single season."

--IANS bbh