The Emirates Cricket Board has announced the dates for ILT20 2024 on Wednesday, August 23. The league will be hosted by United Arab Emirates which is scheduled to play in 3 different venues.
Emirates Cricket Board announced dates for ILT20 2024
The ILT20 tournament is scheduled to commence on January 19 and the finals will be played on February 18. The schedule released reveals that it will be overlapping with dates of SA20 similar to the first season. However, certain efforts are made to minimize the conflict between the two leagues.
The ILT20 will be played across three venues- Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. SA20 is scheduled to be held between January 10 and February 10. The schedules of the ILT20 will be announced at a later date.
The second season will commence with six teams participating. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals, MI Emirates, Sharjah Warriors, Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants.
This tournament follows a 34-match format, including 30 group stages and 4 playoffs including finals. the league introduced a star-studded lineup featuring players such as David Willey, Josh Little, Alex Hales, David Warner, Mark Wood, Akeal Hosein, and Corey Anderson who have signed up for different sides.
The Pakistan players will be making their debut in the ILT20 Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi will join the Desert Vipers franchise.
MI Emirates has signed Ambati Rayudu for the league. He retired from all Indian cricket after IPL 2023 and is currently playing in CPL 2023. Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa have been released by Dubai Capitals who played the first season of ILT20.
Martin Guptill and Maheesh Theekshana will be playing alongside Lewis Gregory. David Warner and Mark Wood have been also signed for the upcoming season. Warner will complete his BBL commitments with Sydney Thunder and will be receiving NOC from Cricket Australia to play in the league.
Teams will be allowed to sign for 25 members with a player pool of 2.5 million dollars. Gulf Giants were the champions of the first season of the ILT20 as they defeated Desert Vipers at Dubai International Stadium.
The first season of the league was a success as it was the second most-watched league in India. It gathered a total of 367 million views around the world.
England’s tour of India 2024 will overlap with the league hence players like Joe Root and Mark Wood are expected to represent England in the Test series against India.
