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Jason Holder to lead Knight Riders; replaces Sunil Narine for ILT20 2026

Aakash Saini

Jason Holder and Sunil Narine [Source: @KkrKaravan, @Rokte_Amarr_KKR/x]Jason Holder and Sunil Narine [Source: @KkrKaravan, @Rokte_Amarr_KKR/x]

The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ABKR) franchise has appointed seasoned all-rounder Jason Holder as the new captain of the team ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE. Holder was appointed for the role by the ADKR, replacing fellow legendary T20 all-rounder and franchise veteran Sunil Narine in the process.

Jason Holder first joined the Knight Riders franchise earlier this year for ILT20 2025. While the team finished at the bottom of the ILT20 2025 points table under the leadership of Sunil Narine, Holder impressed one-and-all with his all-round pedigree, picking up 17 wickets in the tournament from 10 innings and also scoring 126 runs at a staggering strike rate of 180.

Jason Holder rewarded for all-round exploits?

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder is set to helm the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders franchise in the upcoming ILT20 2025-26 season starting next month. The franchise itself confirmed the announcement on Saturday, November 1.

Under the leadership of previous captain and fellow West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine, the ADKR franchise secured just three wins and sustained seven crushing defeats from 10 matches earlier this year to finish sixth on the six-team ILT20 2025 points table.

Moreover, under Sunil Narine’s leadership, the ADKR also failed the 2023 and 2024 editions of the tournament, and even secured the wooden-spoon in the league’s inaugural chapter from 2023.

Knight Riders’ below par returns under Narine’s captaincy might well have prompted the franchise to make a sudden change in team’s hierarchy, just roughly a month prior to the upcoming ILT20 2025-26 season.

Nonetheless, Jason Holder is set to lead a star-studded Knight Riders group this year, as he will be accompanied by fellow T20 juggernauts like Andre Russell, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Sherfane Rutherford and Sunil Narine himself.

The ADKR franchise will play their first match of the ILT20 2025-26 season on December 3 against Sharjah Warriorz in Sharjah.