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International League T20: Dates, schedule, teams, format and history

2025 marks the third edition of the International League T20, a Twenty20 cricket tournament staged annually in the United Arab Emirates.

The competition, which is commercially recognised as the DP World ILT20, consists of six teams and a number of high-quality players in the white-ball formats.

International League T20 date

The 2025 International League T20 starts on Saturday 11th January and concludes with the final on Sunday 9th February.

International League T20 location and stadiums

The International League T20 is held in the United Arab Emirates and staged across three different stadiums.

  • Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Capacity: 25,000)
  • Sharjah Cricket Stadium (Capacity: 16,000)
  • Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (Capacity: 20,000)

The final is held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

International League T20 teams

The International League T20 consists of six teams, of which three are owned by original IPL franchises: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Those clubs are:

  • Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
  • Desert Vipers
  • Dubai Capitals
  • Gulf Giants
  • MI Emirates
  • Sharjah Warriors

International League T20 format

The six teams will play once against each twice in a double round-robin league stage.

Teams will accumulate points and the top four sides at the end of the league phase will progress to the knockout stages.

First and second meet in Qualifier 1 to determine who will go straight to the final, while third and fourth will contest the Eliminator where the winner will face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2.

The winner of Qualifier 2 will then meet the winner of Qualifier 1 in the Final.

International League T20 history

Organised by the Emirates Cricket Board, the International League T20 officially came to fruition in 2022 and the inaugural season was held in 2023.

As the Emirates Cricket Board were not a full member of the ICC, statistics from the first season were not officially recorded as the Gulf Giants were crowned the first winners of the competition.

In December 2023 the competition was recognised by the ICC as an official T20 tournament, resulting in the ILT20 becoming the first Associate-run franchise league to obtain List A status.

The subsequent season was won by the MI Emirates, with Nicholas Pooran's ruthless unbeaten 57 fired them to a 45-run victory over the Dubai Capitals.

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