Exciting Matchups Await in ILT20 Season 5 Kickoff
ILT20 Season 5 Launches with Thrilling Matches
Dubai [UAE], October 7: The defending champions, Desert Vipers, are set to face off against last year's finalists and Season 2 winners, MI Emirates, in the inaugural match of the International League T20 (ILT20) Season 5. This exciting encounter will take place at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, November 21, with the first ball scheduled for 6:30 PM. All evening matches throughout the tournament will commence at this time.
The second match of the season will feature the Sharjah Warriorz going up against the Season 1 champions, Gulf Giants. This match marks the first event at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium and is slated for 2:00 PM on Sunday, November 22, with all afternoon matches starting simultaneously.
Season 3 champions, Dubai Capitals, will begin their title defense against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at their home ground, the Dubai International Stadium, as part of a Super Sunday double-header.
Abu Dhabi will host its opening match on Thursday, November 26, where the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will take on MI Emirates at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
In celebration of UAE National Day (Eid Al Etihad) on December 2, the ILT20 will feature a double-header. The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will host the Desert Vipers in the afternoon, while the Dubai Capitals will face MI Emirates in the evening.
Each team will compete in 10 matches within a double round-robin format, culminating in a total of 34 matches. After the 30-match group stage, the top four teams will advance to the playoffs, leading to the Season 5 final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, December 20, 2026. The tournament will span 30 days and include six days of double-header matches.
The Dubai International Stadium will host 15 matches, while the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will feature 11 matches, and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host eight fixtures.
DP World ILT20 Season 5 will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket, including Moeen Ali, Usman Tariq, and Finn Allen from the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders; Babar Azam, Shimron Hetmyer, and Naseem Shah from the Desert Vipers; Faf du Plessis, Marcus Stoinis, and Mustafizur Rahman from the Dubai Capitals; Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, and David Miller from the Gulf Giants; Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran, and Fazalhaq Farooqi from MI Emirates; and Mohammad Nabi, Sikandar Raza, and Adil Rashid from the Sharjah Warriorz.
Here’s the schedule for the DP World ILT20 Season 5, with all timings in Gulf Standard Time:
Saturday, November 21 – Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Sunday, November 22 – Sharjah Warriorz vs Gulf Giants – 2:00 PM, Sharjah
Sunday, November 22 – Dubai Capitals vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Monday, November 23 – Sharjah Warriorz vs Desert Vipers – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Tuesday, November 24 – Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Wednesday, November 25 – Dubai Capitals vs Desert Vipers – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Thursday, November 26 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Friday, November 27 – Sharjah Warriorz vs Dubai Capitals – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Saturday, November 28 – MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers – 2:00 PM, Abu Dhabi
Saturday, November 28 – Gulf Giants vs Dubai Capitals – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Sunday, November 29 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Sharjah Warriorz – 2:00 PM, Abu Dhabi
Sunday, November 29 – Desert Vipers vs Gulf Giants – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Monday, November 30 – MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, December 1 – Gulf Giants vs Sharjah Warriorz – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Wednesday, December 2 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers – 2:00 PM, Abu Dhabi
Wednesday, December 2 – Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Thursday, December 3 – Gulf Giants vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Friday, December 4 – Desert Vipers vs Sharjah Warriorz – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Saturday, December 5 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Gulf Giants – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Sunday, December 6 – MI Emirates vs Sharjah Warriorz – 2:00 PM, Abu Dhabi
Sunday, December 6 – Desert Vipers vs Dubai Capitals – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Monday, December 7 – MI Emirates vs Gulf Giants – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, December 8 – Dubai Capitals vs Sharjah Warriorz – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Wednesday, December 9 – Sharjah Warriorz vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Thursday, December 10 – Dubai Capitals vs Gulf Giants – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Friday, December 11 – Sharjah Warriorz vs MI Emirates – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Saturday, December 12 – Desert Vipers vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Sunday, December 13 – MI Emirates vs Dubai Capitals – 2:00 PM, Abu Dhabi
Sunday, December 13 – Gulf Giants vs Desert Vipers – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Monday, December 14 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Dubai Capitals – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Wednesday, December 16 – Qualifier 1: Seed 1 vs Seed 2 – 6:30 PM, Abu Dhabi
Thursday, December 17 – Eliminator: Seed 3 vs Seed 4 – 6:30 PM, Dubai
Friday, December 18 – Qualifier 2: Loser of Q1 vs Winner of Eliminator – 6:30 PM, Sharjah
Sunday, December 20 – Final: Winner of Q1 vs Winner of Q2 – 6:30 PM, Dubai
DP World ILT20 Season 5 Squads:
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders:
Auction Signings: Alishan Sharafu, Amshi De Silva, Muhammad Rohid, Moeen Ali, Arab Gul, Usman Tariq, Gulbadin Naib, Ibrar Ahmed, Andre Fletcher, Ajay Kumar, Colin Munro, Michael Pepper, Qais Ahmad, Jakeem Pollard, Abdul Mannan Ali, Ravija Sandaruwan, Abdullah Tarakhail, Lorcan Tucker
Pre-Auction Signings: Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp, Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers:
Auction Signings: David Payne, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Vriitya Aravind, Aneurin Donald, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Joe Clarke, Nangeyalia Kharote, Sanjay Pahal, Harry Tector, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Nilansh Keswani, Saleem Safi, Bilal Tahir, Wali Muhammad
Pre-Auction Signings: Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer
Dubai Capitals:
Auction Signings: Faf du Plessis, Max Holden, Dasun Shanaka, Aayan Khan, Hassan Khan, Phil Salt, Sediqullah Atal, Mark Adair, Karim Janat, Luke Wood, Tom Moores, Haider Ali, Zuhaib Zubair, Darwish Rasooli, Muhammad Arfan, Matt Potts, Usman Najeeb, Anudeep Chenthamara, Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz
Pre-Auction Signings: Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rovman Powell
Gulf Giants:
Auction Signings: Liam Livingstone, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, David Wiese, Ibrahim Zadran, Tabraiz Shamsi, Curtis Campher, Dhruv Parashar, Matiullah Khan, Haider Razzaq, Imran Mir, Imtiaz Khan, Meet Bhavsar, Shubham Ranjane, Wahidullah Zadran, Awais Ahmed, Sagar Kalyan, Alick Athanaze
Pre-Auction Signings: Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen
MI Emirates:
Auction Signings: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Muhammad Waseem, Chris Jordan, Allah Ghazanfar, Lizaad Williams, James Coles, Jonny Bairstow, Kusal Perera, Jordan Thompson, Zahoor Khan, Wasim Akram, Zain Ul Abidin, Muhammad Shafeeq, Asa Tribe, Raizal Nadir Nather Shah, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Ross Adair
Pre-Auction Signings: Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford
Sharjah Warriorz:
Auction Signings: Richard Gleeson, Mohammad Nabi, Paul Walter, Adil Rashid, Brandon McMullen, Tom Banton, Craig Overton, George Linde, Ali Aamer Naseer, Fareed Malik, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Logan van Beek, Junaid Siddique, Tanish Suri, Nabeel Aziz, George Dockrell, Mohammad Saqib, Arunraj Selvaraj, James Rew
Pre-Auction Signings: Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil, Sikandar Raza.