ILT20 2025-26 Retained Players: The fourth season of the ILT20 is set to begin on December 2, with the finals to be played on January 06.
Usually, the tournament is played in January, but it has been shifted to December to finish before the Men’s T20 World Cup. On this occasion, the ILT20 teams have revealed the list of retained players.
Along with the retained list, they have also named the initially new signings for all the teams.
ILT20 2025-26 Retained Players
Several players like Afghanistan’s Waqar Salamkheil signed from MI Emirates, England’s Luke Wood from Desert Vipers, and UAE’s Muhammad Jawadullah from Sharjah Warriorz.
It is notable that Dubai Capitals has retained core players such as Rovman Powell, Shai Hope and Gulbadin Naib. They have also retained Dasun Shanaka and Dushmanthan Chameera.
Meanwhile Abu Dhabi who finished last in the previous edition have launched a major overhaul by adding three dynamic batters Alex Hales, Sherfane Rutherford and Liam Livingstone.
Meanwile Knight Riders will continue to rely on seasoned campaigners Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Phil Salt, and Charith Asalanka, who have all been retained.
MI Emirates has welcomed Chris Woakes, Kamindu Mendis, while Desert Vipers brought WK-batter Andries Gous. Gulf Giants picked up Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai, while Sharjah Warriors added Tim David, Sikandar Raza, Maheesh Theekshana, and Saurabh Netravalkar.
All six franchises have released their preliminary squad lists.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
- Alex Hales
- Alishan Sharafu
- Andre Russell
- Charith Asalanka
- Liam Livingstone
- Phil Salt
- Sherfane Rutherford
- Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers
- Andries Gous
- Dan Lawrence
- David Payne
- Khuaima Bin Tanveer
- Lockie Ferguson
- Max Holden
- Sam Curran
- Wanindu Hasaranga
Dubai Capitals
- Dasun Shanaka
- Dushmantha Chameera
- Gulbadin Naib
- Luke Wood
- Muhammad Jawadullah
- Rovmann Powell
- Shai Hope
- Waqar Salamkheil
Gulf Giants
- Aayan Afzal Khan
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Blessing Muzarabani
- Gerhard Erasmus
- James Vince
- Mark Adair
- Moeen Ali
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
MI Emirates
- AM Ghazanfar
- Chris Woakes
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Kamindu Mendis
- Kusal Perera
- Romario Shepherd
- Tom Banton
- Muhammad Waseem.
Sharjah Warriorz
- Johnson Charles
- Maheesh Theekshana
- Tim Southee
- Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Saurabh Netravalkar
- Sikandar Raza
- Tim David
Apart from the retained players list, teams has also made new signings.
| Team | Players |
| Abu Dhabi Night Riders | Alex Hales, Liam Livingstone, Sherfane Rutherford |
| Desert Vipers | Andries Gous |
| Dubai Capitals | Luke Wood, Waqar Salamkheil, Muhammad Jawadullah |
| Gulf Giants | Azmatullah Omarzai, Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz |
| MI Emirates | Chris Woakes, Kamindu Mendis |
| Sharjah Warriors | Maheesh Theekshana, Sikandar Raza, Saurabh Netravalkar, Tim David |
