International League T20

The International League T20 (ILT20) (also endorsed as the DP World ILT20 for sponsorship reasons) is a T20 cricket tournament being played in the United Arab Emirates. It is sanctioned by Emirates Cricket Board.[1][2]

International League T20
CountriesUnited Arab Emirates
AdministratorEmirates Cricket Board
FormatTwenty20
First edition2023
Next edition2024
Tournament formatRound-robin and playoffs
Number of teams6
Current championGulf Giants
Most successfulGulf Giants (1st title)
Most runsAlex Hales (469)
Most wicketsChris Jordan (20)
2024 International League T20
Websitewww.ilt20uae.com
Seasons

The first edition of the tournament was originally scheduled to take place during January and February 2023, but it was rescheduled to take place from January 2023, with six teams competing.[3] In June 2022, the league was formally named the International League T20, with the dates for the first season also being confirmed.[4]

Shah Rukh Khan inaugurated a performance for the first 2023 edition of ILT20.

Although matches are played using standard Twenty20 formats, statistics are not included in official records because Emirates Cricket Board is not a full-member of the International Cricket Council.

Overview

The International League T20 (ILT20) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in the United Arab Emirates. The league was founded in 2022 and is sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). The inaugural season of the ILT20 took place from January 13 to February 12, 2023, with six teams competing. The teams were:

  • Abu Dhabi
  • Dubai
  • Fujairah
  • Sharjah
  • Northern Warriors
  • Team Abu Dhabi

The ILT20 is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other team twice. The top four teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs consist of a semi-final, a third-place play-off, and a final.

The first ILT20 season was won by the Northern Warriors, who defeated Team Abu Dhabi in the final. The tournament was a success, with good crowds and positive feedback from players and fans. The ILT20 is expected to become a major cricket league in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East. The league has a number of rules designed to help young players develop, such as a requirement that each team must have at least two players under the age of 23.

Franchises owners from the Indian Premier League (IPL), such as Knight Riders Group, Reliance Industries, GMR Group along with Lancer Capitals, Adani Group and Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd were announced as owners of the teams.[5][6] Three original IPL franchises owners (i.e. the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals) also got the chance to sign up to four players from their current IPL squads.[7]


Teams

The following teams and their owners were announced as taking part in the tournament:[8]

Team Owner Coach Captain
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Knight Riders Group Abhishek Nayar Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers Lancer Capital LLC James Foster Colin Munro
Dubai Capitals GMR Group Phil Simmons Rovman Powell
Gulf Giants Adani Sportsline Pvt.Ltd Andy Flower James Vince
MI Emirates Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd Kieron Pollard
Sharjah Warriors Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd Paul Farbrace Moeen Ali

Tournament season and results
ILT20 season winner
Season Final No. of teams Player of the series
Venue Winners Result Runners-up
2022–23 Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Gulf Giants
149/3 (18.4 overs)		 Gulf Giants won by 7 wickets Scorecard Desert Vipers
146/8 (20 overs)		 6 Chris Jordan (Gulf Giants)

Teams' performances
Season 2023
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

6th

Dubai Capitals SF
Desert Vipers RU
Gulf Giants C
MI Emirates SF
Sharjah Warriors 5th
  •   C: champions
  •   RU: runner-up
  •   SF or PO: team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition

Ground
United Arab Emirates
Dubai Sharjah Abu Dhabi
Dubai International Cricket Stadium Sharjah Cricket Stadium Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 16,000 Capacity: 20,000

Rules

Nine out of eleven players on each team can be overseas players,[9] which will be significantly higher than the four or five overseas-player-limit of other major T20 leagues.[10] Two players on each team must be a UAE player and a player from an Associate Member nation respectively.[9]

Reactions

There has been some controversy around the ILT20's plan to only require one local (UAE) player in the playing XI of each team, with several Full Members calling for regulations requiring a higher minimum number of local players in the ILT20 and other T20 leagues.[11] 108 million people tuned in from across India even though attendance was low.[12] Attendance was low due to lack of participation of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani cricketers.[13]

Broadcasters

In May 2021, Essel Group owned Zee Entertainment Enterprises bought the media rights of this league for ten years from 2023-32 a cost of US$120 million.[14][15]

International Broadcasters:[16]

Territory/Region Channel
India Zee Cinema, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Zest, Zee Thirai, Zee Bangla Cinema, & Pictures HD, Flix and Sony Sports Network 2024-32 (merger with ZEE), Zee5 - Live Streaming
Pakistan PTV Sports and Geo Super
Afghanistan Ariana TV
Sri Lanka Supreme TV
UK BT Sport and Zee Tv
MENA CricLife 3
USA and Canada Willow TV
Bangladesh Gazi TV, T Sports, Toffee[17]
Australia Fox Cricket
New Zealand Sky Sports NZ
Nepal Sim TV Nepal, Net TV Nepal
Caribbean Flow Sports
Maldives Medianet

References
  1. "KKR, Mumbai Indians set to become franchise owners in UAE-based Premier League T20". ESPN Cricinfo.
  2. "UAE'S PREMIER LEAGUE T20 SETS DATES AND UNVEILS TOURNAMENT LOGO". Emirates Cricket Board.
  3. "Flush With Cash And Influential Backing, The UAE's New T20 League Is Set To Shake Up Cricket Globally". Forbes.
  4. "UAE T20 league announces early-2023 window, set for clash of dates with BBL, BPL and CSA league". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. "Shah Rukh Khan Leads Acquisition of Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Cricket Franchise". Variety. 12 May 2022.
  6. "Manchester United co-chairman Avram Glazer buys franchise in new UAE T20 cricket league". Sky Sports.
  7. "IPL franchises to have first right to sign their players in UAE T20 league". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. "Knight Riders Group acquires Abu Dhabi franchise in upcoming UAE T20 League". ESPNCricinfo.
  9. "UAE T20 league sets $450,000 contract for top players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. Laghate, Gaurav. "ZEE signs exclusive media rights deal for Emirates Cricket Board's UAE T20 League". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  11. "Full Members concerned over idea of nine overseas players per XI in UAE league". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  12. "ILT20 Achieves New Milestone: Clocks over 10-crore reach and 2.8 billion minutes across ZEE's 10 linear channels in the first 9 LIVE matches". Zee Business. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  13. Priya (19 January 2023). "Participants in ILT20 are positive about the league". SportsUnfold. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  14. Pinto, Viveat Susan (24 May 2022). "Zee re-enters sports broadcasting, picks up media rights for UAE T20 League". Business Standard India. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  15. "Zee bags media rights for UAE T20 league globally". Business Line. The Hindu. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. "ILT20 Broadcasting Channels and Live Streaming Details 2023". 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  17. "Toffee exclusively livestreaming International League T20".
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