The DP World International League T20, the UAE's premier 20-over franchise tournament, is back for more after a memorable finale in January.
The fifth season of the high-profile T20 league is scheduled to begin on November 22 this year. The six-team, 34-match tournament will reach its finale on December 20 at the Dubai International Stadium.
It marks a change in the schedule for the tournament. The first three seasons were played in the January-February window, while for season four the matches were moved to December-January to make room for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Now, the T20 carnival will begin in November - at the height of the cricket season across the world - when Desert Vipers will look to defend the title they lifted after defeating MI Emirates in the title match by 46 runs in January.
Last season was memorable for another reason as the tournament held a player auction for the first time, resulting in a financial windfall for local players like Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Rohid.
The UAE players then gave a good account of themselves during the subsequent T20 World Cup in India, defeating Canada and putting up a fight against Afghanistan.
“We are delighted with Season 4’s success. The broadcast numbers, spectators’ interest and the participation of the biggest T20 stars made the tournament a remarkable success as the quality of the league grew further," ILT20 CEO David White said.
“The DP World ILT20 continues to make massive strides and our strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation and Kuwait Cricket are already making a big impact. This year, these partnerships will be consolidated further through our development tournaments which will be played in both countries prior to Season 5.
“The Season 4 player auction was a great success as well and we are already gearing up for this year’s auction. There are a number of exciting announcements and initiatives that will be revealed in the coming days.”
