What Is ILT20? Full Form, Country, Teams and Rules

ILT20 is the International League T20, a professional Twenty20 franchise cricket league in the United Arab Emirates. It is sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board, sponsored by DP World and has six teams. The first season was played in January and February 2023, and Season 5 runs from Saturday 21 November to Sunday 20 December 2026.

ILT20 at a glance

ILT20 full form

ILT20 stands for International League T20. “IL” is short for International League, and “T20” is Twenty20, the format in which each team bats for up to 20 overs. The name was announced in June 2022, when the league confirmed its first season for January and February 2023.

Before it had that name, the competition was known as the UAE T20 League. That is how it was described in May 2022, when Zee bought its global media rights, and in the first reports of its player rules.

What does DPW mean in DPW ILT20?

DPW stands for DP World, the Dubai-based ports and logistics company that is the league’s title sponsor. DP World and the league announced a five-year title sponsorship on 15 December 2022, which made the official name the DP World International League T20. Scorecards, team posts and hashtags shorten it to DP World ILT20 or DPW ILT20.

Which country is ILT20 played in?

ILT20 is played in the United Arab Emirates. Matches are shared between three grounds in three emirates: Dubai International Stadium in Dubai, Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Every final so far has been played in Dubai, and the 2026 final is there on Sunday 20 December.

Is ILT20 an Indian league?

No. ILT20 is a UAE league run under the Emirates Cricket Board. It is often linked with the IPL because five of the six teams are owned by Indian business groups, and three of those groups also own IPL teams: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. Desert Vipers are owned by Lancer Capital, Avram Glazer’s investment company. Our guide to ILT20 team owners covers all six.

Who runs the ILT20?

The league is sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board, the governing body of cricket in the UAE, and its first season was played with multi-year approval from the ICC. In December 2023 the ICC recognised the ILT20 as an official T20 tournament, so runs and wickets in the league count in players’ official T20 records. It was the first T20 league run by the board of an Associate nation to be given that status. Some reports called it List A status, but the recognition applies to the league’s T20 matches.

David White, the league’s chief executive since 2023, left in September 2026, and Mike Fordham was named interim chief operating officer ahead of Season 5.

ILT20 history: key dates

ILT20 seasons and champions

Four seasons have produced four different champions. The full results of every final are in our ILT20 winners list.

Season	Dates	Champions
Season 1	13 January to 12 February 2023	Gulf Giants
Season 2	19 January to 17 February 2024	MI Emirates
Season 3	11 January to 9 February 2025	Dubai Capitals
Season 4	2 December 2025 to 4 January 2026	Desert Vipers
Season 5	21 November to 20 December 2026	To be decided

How many teams are in ILT20?

There are six teams, and the same six have played every season since 2023. The team from Sharjah spells its name Sharjah Warriorz, with a z. Each team page has the full squad, and the ILT20 squads page lists all six side by side.

Team	Owner	Also owns or part of	ILT20 titles
Abu Dhabi Knight RidersAbu Dhabi KR	Knight Riders Group	Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL)	None yet
Desert Vipers	Lancer Capital		1 (2025-26)
Dubai Capitals	GMR Group	Delhi Capitals (IPL, co-owner)	1 (2025)
Gulf Giants	Adani Sportsline	Adani Group	1 (2023)
MI Emirates	Reliance Industries	Mumbai Indians (IPL)	1 (2024)
Sharjah Warriorz	Capri Global		None yet

How an ILT20 season works

Each team plays the other five twice, so every team plays 10 matches and the league stage has 30. The top four teams reach the playoffs, which follow the same path as the IPL:

• Qualifier 1: 1st against 2nd. The winner goes straight to the final.
• Eliminator: 3rd against 4th. The loser is out.
• Qualifier 2: the loser of Qualifier 1 against the winner of the Eliminator.
• Final: the winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.

That makes 34 matches in a season, and our guide to how the ILT20 playoffs work walks through an example and every past playoff result. A win is worth two points, and teams level on points are separated by net run rate. The ILT20 points table explains points and net run rate in full, and the ILT20 2026 schedule lists every fixture as soon as it is announced.

ILT20 rules for 2026

Who must be in the playing XI

Every playing XI in Season 5 must include at least two UAE players, at least two Afghanistan players and at least one more player from an Associate country. That place can go to a third UAE player or to a player from a country such as Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. The other six places can go to players from any country, which is where most of the big international names play.

Who must be in the squad

Each squad has 18 to 23 players. It must include at least four UAE players, with at least one capped UAE international and one under-23 UAE player among them, plus at least four Afghanistan players and at least one player each from Ireland, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and another Associate country. The squads page shows how each team meets these rules.

How the rules have changed

Older articles give different numbers because the rules have changed several times:

Super Sub and wildcards

For Season 2 in 2024, the league added the Super Sub, which lets a team replace a player during a match, and wildcard signings. For 2026, each team can add one wildcard player after the auction, outside its main budget.

Auction and Right to Match

Since 2025, teams build most of their squads at a player auction. In the first three seasons they signed overseas players directly and picked UAE players in a draft. Before the 2026 auction each team could spend $700,000 on direct signings and had a $1.3 million auction purse, and every team had to spend between $1.5 million and $2 million on its squad. Teams can keep players from their previous squad with Right to Match cards. See the ILT20 auction results for every price, and our guides to how Right to Match works and how ILT20 players are paid.

ILT20 prize money and awards

The league has not announced prize money for Season 5. In 2025, champions Dubai Capitals received $700,000 and runners-up Desert Vipers $300,000.

The season’s top performers win coloured belts: the Green Belt for the highest run-scorer, the White Belt for the highest wicket-taker, the Blue Belt for the best UAE player and the Red Belt for the most valuable player. Muhammad Waseem of MI Emirates has won the Blue Belt in each of the first four seasons.

Who plays in ILT20?

Every squad mixes international stars with UAE players and cricketers from Associate countries. The 2026 squads include Nicholas Pooran and Rashid Khan at MI Emirates, Sunil Narine at Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Liam Livingstone at Gulf Giants and Babar Azam at Desert Vipers. At the 2026 auction, Fazalhaq Farooqi became the most expensive player in the league’s auction history at $380,000.

Can Indian players play in ILT20?

Only Indian players who have retired from all cricket in India can play, because the BCCI does not let its active players join overseas leagues. Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and Piyush Chawla have all played after retiring. Our guide explains which Indian players can play in ILT20 and lists every one so far.

Squads must also include players from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and the league runs a Development Tournament for UAE players hoping to win a contract.

ILT20 compared with the IPL

The two leagues are built the other way round. An IPL team can field at most four overseas players, while an ILT20 team keeps five places for UAE, Afghanistan and Associate players and can fill the other six with players from anywhere. The ILT20 also plays at a different time of year: Season 5 runs in November and December, while the IPL is played in the spring.

Where to watch ILT20

In India, Season 5 is on Zee’s TV channels and the Zee5 app. Broadcasters in other countries will be added to our where to watch ILT20 guide as they are confirmed.

ILT20 questions

Sources: League launch announcement, June 2022, DP World title sponsorship announcement, Khaleej Times, Emirates Cricket Board, ESPNcricinfo on official T20 status, ESPNcricinfo on wildcards, Wisden on the 2026 player rules, The National, Gulf News on Season 5 dates, ESPNcricinfo on the Season 5 format, Cricket Times on 2025 prize money and belts.

Spotted a mistake? Email info@internationaleaguet20.com and we will correct it, noting the change at the top of the article.

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