Max Holden

FULL NAME

Max Holden

TEAMS

Dubai Capitals

Max Holden has played for Middlesex since his teens, scoring runs in all three formats and captaining the side in the shorter game. His T20 record is built on timing and placement rather than power: he finds gaps, runs hard, and punishes the bad ball, which makes him a useful foil for the hitters around him. He has played in the Hundred and in English domestic T20 for years, and he has been on the edge of England selection without quite breaking through.

• Role: Batter
• Team: Dubai Capitals
• Batting: Left-handed
• Bowling: TBC
• Born: 18 December 1997

The $100,000 fee is a serious investment for a player without international caps, and it shows what the Capitals wanted: a left-hander. Their top order is otherwise entirely right-handed — du Plessis, Salt, Stoinis — and a left-hander at the top changes the angles for every bowler and every captain. Holden is that player.

Holden's most likely place is at three, behind du Plessis and Salt, where he can come in during the powerplay and keep the scoring rate up without taking risks. His game suits the role: he rotates the strike well, which matters when the hitters at the other end are trying to clear the ropes, and he is strong square of the wicket on both sides. On Dubai's fast outfield, his placement is worth as much as power.

He will compete with the all-rounders for the middle-order places if the top order is settled, but his left-handedness is his edge: captains pick left-handers to break up right-handed partnerships, and the Capitals have only one. That makes him hard to leave out.

The Capitals' batting is built on power, and Holden is the player who makes the power work. A top order of pure hitters can collapse; a top order with a batter who rotates strike and builds an innings has a floor under it. Holden is that floor — the player who is still there in the 12th over, with 40 runs to his name and the innings set up for the finishers.

The champions open at home, and Holden's left-handedness is part of the plan from day one: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Sunday 22 November, in the evening in Dubai.

• Match 3 — vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Sunday 22 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 6 — vs Desert Vipers: Wednesday 25 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 8 — vs Sharjah Warriorz: Friday 27 November 2026, evening session, Sharjah.

Qualifier 1 is on Tuesday 16 December, the Eliminator on Wednesday 17 December, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December in Sharjah, and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai.

Every fixture, date and session is on the ILT20 Schedule page. SialTV will carry every result as it happens, with the points table updated after every match day.