Squads Announced for ILT20 Development Tournament 2026
Squads Confirmed for ILT20 Development Tournament
The rosters for the fourth edition of the International League T20 Development Tournament have been finalized following the Player Draft conducted on September 2. Six teams will represent the franchises in this exciting competition.
Set to kick off on September 14, the tournament aims to showcase some of the UAE's most talented cricketers, providing them with essential exposure and experience, as stated in a recent press release.
Many players selected for the six teams have previously participated in the DP World ILT20 and made notable contributions, while others will seize the chance to shine ahead of the ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction, which is scheduled for October 1, 2026, in Dubai.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development squad is anchored by Alishan Sharafu, with wicketkeeper-batter Mayank Choudhary and pace bowler Ibrar Ahmad, both of whom played in ILT20 Season 4, adding depth to the lineup.
Desert Vipers Development will include Sanjay Pahal, who earned the title of Player of the Tournament last year with 157 runs and 12 wickets, securing his spot in the Desert Vipers for ILT20 Season 4. The team will also feature UAE internationals Khuzaima Tanveer and Matiullah Khan, alongside experienced wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.
Dubai Capitals Development is set to present a strong bowling lineup with Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah, both of whom were part of the Capitals in the previous ILT20 season. Additionally, Akshdeep Nath, who made his UAE debut this year, and Raees Ahmed, who was the third-highest run-scorer in the last ILT20 Development Tournament, will also join the squad.
Gulf Giants Development has retained Haider Razzaq, the leading wicket-taker from last year with 16 wickets in seven matches. The squad will also include Aayan Afzal Khan, who has been with the franchise since its inception, taking 24 wickets in 35 matches. Sagar Kalyan and Tanish Suri, who were among the top run-scorers last year, will further strengthen the team.
MI Emirates Development has centered its squad around the experienced Muhammad Waseem, who has played 46 matches for the franchise and ranks as the third-highest run-scorer in ILT20 history with 1,241 runs. The team will also include a strong group of DP World ILT20 players such as Muhammad Rohid, Ali Naseer, Aryan Lakra, and Zahoor Khan.
Sharjah Warriorz Development features UAE international Junaid Siddique, the national team's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 126 wickets. He will be joined by left-handed batter Ethan D'Souza and Dhruv Parashar, who has previously played for the Desert Vipers. The squad is rounded out by UAE ODI captain Harpreet Singh Bhatia, adding significant international experience.
The ILT20 Development Tournament will commence on September 14, with the six teams competing in a single-league, round-robin format. Sharjah Warriorz Development will enter the tournament as the defending champions after defeating Desert Vipers Development in last year's final.
ILT20 Development Tournament Squads 2026
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development: Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz, Aftab Alam, Falaknoor Noor, Uzair Khan, Awais Ali Shah, Nawodya Wijayakumara, Zia Mukhtar, Usaid Amin, Junaid Khan Afridi, Asel Sigera, Zahid Ali, Ammar Badami, Salman Saleem, Uzair Haider, Ibrar Ahmad, Mayank Choudhary, Alishan Sharafu
Desert Vipers Development: Ayaan Misbah, Nilansh Keswani, Israr Ahmad, Hilal Afghan, Wasim Akram, Harshit Kaushik, Wali Muhammad, Abdul Ghaffar, Taimoor Ali, Punya Bhatia, Zeeshan Abid, Angad Nehru, Harsh Desai, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Matiullah Khan, Sanjay Pahal, Vriitya Aravind
Dubai Capitals Development: Akshdeep Nath, Tahir Zaman, Khalid Shah, Zeeshan Naseer, Muhammad Arfan, Saghir Khan, Yayin Rai, Ahmed Tariq, Raees Ahmed, Mohomad Halan, Rahul Chopra, Asif Mohammad Taniwal, Abdul Rahman Nasir, Farhan Khan, Haider Ali, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah
Gulf Giants Development: Sohaib Khan, Adeeb Usmani, Awais Ahmed, Sagar Kalyan, Junaid Shamsudheen, Ansh Tandon, Keshav Sharma, Nabeel Aziz, Muhammad Irshad, Samal Udawaththa, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Vaibhav Govekar, Tanish Suri, Albin Alias, Aayan Khan, Haider Razzaq, Zuhaib Zubair
MI Emirates Development: Kona Srikar Bharat, Ali Naseer, Ibrahim Masood, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Aryan Lakra, Nasir Faraz, Said Nazeer, Wahab Hassan, Muhammad Sameer, Zenul Abideen, Raizal Nadir, Naseem Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Rohid, Usman Khan, Zahoor Khan
Sharjah Warriorz Development: Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Dilan Suraweera, Daniyal Liaquat, Dhruv Parashar, Luqman Faisal, Mohit Kalyan, Uddish Suri, Basil Hameed, Omid Rahman, Hafiz Almas Ayub, Shahid Iqbal, Aftab Javed, Rayan Khan, Ronak Panoly, Anas Malik, Junaid Siddique, Ethan D Souza.