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)
2024 International League T20
Websitewww.ilt20uae.com

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]

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 2024, 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.

Matches in Season 1 were played using standard Twenty20 formats, statistics were not included in official records because Emirates Cricket Board is not a full-member of the International Cricket Council.

ILT20 becomes first Associate-run franchise league to get 'official' List-A status in December 2023.[5]

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 Knight Riders , Dubai Capitals, Desert Vipers , Gulf Giants , MI Emirates , Sharjah Warriors

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 Gulf Giants, who defeated Desert Vipers 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 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.[6][7] 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.[8]

Background

The UAE-based ILT20, one of the major franchise-run T20 leagues around the world despite being just a season old because of the quality of players it has attracted, has been given List A status by the ICC just over a month off the start of its second season. It's the first T20 league run by the board of an Associate nation to be given the status.[5]

What it means is that the tournament will now be recognised as an official T20 tournament, with all tournament statistics given official status. In a statement, the ILT20 called the update "a major milestone" and a "major boost".

"Earning the List A status is a major milestone for the DP World International League T20. We would like to thank the ICC for the acknowledgment," David White, chief executive of the league, said. "The recognition is a clear indication of the strength and stature of our league."

The second edition of the tournament will kick off on January 19 and end on February 17.[9][10]

Teams

The following teams and their owners were announced as taking part in the tournament:[11]

Team City Home ground Founded Captain Coach Owner
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium 2023 Sunil Narine Knight Riders Group
Desert Vipers Dubai Dubai International Cricket Stadium 2023 Colin Munro James Foster Avram Glazer
Dubai Capitals Dubai Dubai International Cricket Stadium 2023 David Warner Phil Simmons GMR Group
Gulf Giants Dubai Dubai International Cricket Stadium 2023 James Vince Andy Flower Adani Sportsline Pvt.Ltd
MI Emirates Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium 2023 Nicholas Pooran Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd
Sharjah Warriors Sharjah Sharjah Cricket Stadium 2023 Tom Kohler-Cadmore Paul Farbrace Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd

Tournament results

Season Final venue Winners Result Runners-up No. of teams Player of the series
2023 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,[12] which will be significantly higher than the four or five overseas-player-limit of other major T20 leagues.[13] Two players on each team must be a UAE player and a player from an Associate Member nation respectively.[12]

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.[14] 108 million people tuned in from across India even though attendance was low.[15] Attendance was low due to lack of participation of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani cricketers.[16]

Broadcasters

In May 2021, Essel Group owned Zee Entertainment Enterprises bought the media rights of this league for ten years from 2023 to 2032 a cost of US$120 million.[17][18]

International Broadcasters:[19]

Territory/Region Channel
India Zee Cinema, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Zest, Zee Thirai, Zee Bangla Cinema, & Pictures HD, Flix and Sony Sports Network 2025-32 (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[20]
Australia Fox Cricket
New Zealand Sky Sports NZ
Nepal Sim TV Nepal, Net TV Nepal
Caribbean Flow Sports
Maldives Medianet

References

  1. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "KKR, Mumbai Indians set to become franchise owners in UAE-based Premier League T20". ESPN Cricinfo.
  2. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "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. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "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. 1 2 SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "ILT20 becomes first Associate-run franchise league to get 'official' List-A status". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. "Shah Rukh Khan Leads Acquisition of Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Cricket Franchise". Variety. 12 May 2022.
  7. "Manchester United co-chairman Avram Glazer buys franchise in new UAE T20 cricket league". Sky Sports.
  8. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "IPL franchises to have first right to sign their players in UAE T20 league". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  9. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "DP World ILT20 Season 2 to be played between 19 January to 18 February 2024". ilt20.ae. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  10. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "Gulf Giants, Sharjah Warriors to play ILT20 opener on January 19". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  11. SAGAR Singh Chauhan. "Knight Riders Group acquires Abu Dhabi franchise in upcoming UAE T20 League". ESPNCricinfo.
  12. 1 2 "UAE T20 league sets $450,000 contract for top players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  13. 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.
  14. "Full Members concerned over idea of nine overseas players per XI in UAE league". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  15. "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.
  16. Priya (19 January 2023). "Participants in ILT20 are positive about the league". SportsUnfold. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  17. 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.
  18. SAGAR Singh Chauhan (24 May 2022). "Zee bags media rights for UAE T20 league globally". Business Line. The Hindu. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  19. SAGAR Singh Chauhan (13 January 2023). "ILT20 Broadcasting Channels and Live Streaming Details 2023". Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  20. "Toffee exclusively livestreaming International League T20".
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