Cricket tournament
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 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]
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
|
2024 International League T20
