Everything you need to Know about ILT20 2024

The 2024 International League T20 (also known as DP World International League T20 2024 for sponsorship reasons) will be the second season of the International League T20, a professional Twenty20 cricket league in the United Arab Emirates, organised by the Emirates Cricket Board. The tournament is being played from 19 January 2024, with the final scheduled to be held on 17 February 2024. Gulf Giants are the defending champions. The matches were granted List A status by the ICC for fielding fewer domestic players as stipulated.

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.

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”.

With only a few days to go until the second season of one of the biggest T20 cricket leagues in the world — DP World ILT20 kicks off, the official broadcaster, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), has announced its panel of star commentators on Monday, January 8, 2024.

The panel consists of some big names like Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Rohan Gavaskar, Saba Karim, Nikhil Chopra, Vivek Razdan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. They will be joined by Alan Wilkins, Simon Doull, Daren Ganga, Danny Morrison, and Niall O’Brien. In addition to that, there will be former India captain Anjum Chopra as well as sports broadcasters Reema Malhotra and Natalie Germanos on the panel.

The DP World ILT20 will also feature some of the biggest cricketers in the world, including the likes of David Warner, Dasun Shanaka, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sam Billings, David Willey, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, James Vince, Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, and Martin Guptill.

Format

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 several 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. 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.

Rules

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

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the UAE T20 league will be before the opening match of the UAE T20 League season 2. The opening ceremony will be on January 19, 2024, and will start at 7:00 p.m., according to the UAE. The 1st match of the 2nd season of ILT T20 will start after the opening ceremony.

Opening ceremony is performed before the opening match of the ILT T20 season 2. The 1st Match is scheduled in Sharjah cricket stadium so, the opening ceremony will be at The opening. The capacity of spectators at this stadium is 17,000 people.

The UAE T20 League 2024 opening ceremony date and time were announced, and the performers will entertain the audience and make it an amazing event. The performers and celebrities will participate, making it a superb event.

Rapper Badshah and Jason Derulo will perform at the opening ceremony, and they were also the singers at the inaugural opening ceremony of the league.

Shah Rukh Khan is the best actor in Bollywood, and he’s also the owner of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders team in the UAE T20 League. He’ll participate in the opening ceremony of the league for the second season.

Teams Playing in the DP World ILT20 2024:

1. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
2. The Desert Vipers
3. Dubai Capitals
4. Gulf Giants
5. MI Emirates
6. Sharjah Warriors

ILT20 Schedule 2024, Fixtures, and Match Timetable:

Most Frequently Asked Questions about DP World ILT20 2024

DP World ILT20: When can you watch DP World ILT20 matches? Match Date

DP World ILT20 is set to start on Friday, January 19, 2024, and end on Saturday, February 17, 2024.

DP World ILT20: When will the DP World ILT20 matches start? Match Time in IST

DP World ILT20 single-header matches will start at 8 PM IST, while the double-header matches will start at 4 PM IST.

DP World ILT20: Where can fans watch the live broadcast of the DP World ILT20?

Fans can watch the live broadcast of DP World ILT20 on Zee’s linear channels.

DP World ILT20: Where can fans watch the free live streaming of the DP World ILT20?

DP World ILT20 will be live streamed on the ZEE5 app and website for free in India.

DP World ILT20: Where will the DP World ILT20 be played in the UAE? Match Venues

The DP World ILT20 matches will be played in three stadiums in the UAE: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.