The first International League T20 is expected to start on January 13, 2023, and the championship game is set for February 12, 2023. On Tuesday, November 29, the tournament’s schedule was released. The inaugural game of the new league will feature Dubai Capitals vs. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
The league stage of the six-team tournament will consist of 30 games contested between January 13 and February 6, followed by two qualifiers and an eliminator before two teams advance to the finals.
During the league stage, each of the six teams—Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, Sharjah Warriors, and Desert Vipers—will play the other five teams twice.
The best 4 teams: Advance to the Post-season:
The best 4 teams advance to the postseason. The first qualifier is set for February 8; the winning team advances to the finals, and the loser team has a rematch at the second qualifier, which is set for February 10. The second qualifier will be played after the winner of the February 9 eliminator, and the victorious team will advance to the finals on February 13.
Several well-known players from England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the West Indies, the Netherlands, and Ireland are competing in the tournament, including Andre Russell, Jonny Bairstow, Sikandar Raza, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Trent Boult, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, and Wan
The Indian Premier League franchises own the majority of the franchises in the International League T20. The league’s MI Emirates, Dubai Capitals, and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are owned by the same people that own the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kolkata Knight Riders. Dessert Vipers is owned by Lancer Capital LLC, the same that also owns Manchester United FC.
The Host:
The games will be held at three locations in the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai International Stadium, Zayed Cricket Stadium, and Sharjah Cricket Stadium will all host the games.
The championship will feature 34 games spread over three locations: the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and the Dubai International Stadium.
Five weekend-day doubleheaders will take place during the event. Before entering the playoffs, the six franchises will compete against one another twice in the competition. The final, which will take place in Dubai on February 12, will then follow.
Mubashshir Usmani, general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, commented on the ILT20 schedule as follows:
“We are glad to bring the 2023 ILT20 playing calendar at this enjoy spending time period for the league. It’s wonderful to see high profile people register accounts for their teams, like Dasun Shanaka of Dubai Capital & Andre Russell of the Abu Dhabi Knight Rider.”
“The league management is blissful to have worked with nationally recognized artists Badshah & Jason Derulo, who will assuredly animate the teams and the fans before the debut match.”
Six franchises, including Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), MI Emirates (Reliance Industries), and Sharjah Warriors, will compete in the ILT20’s debut season (Capri Global).
Live streaming ILT20:
The International League T20 will be broadcast live on ZEE’s 10 linear channels in English, Hindi, and Tamil as well as on its OTT platform ZEE5, according to a statement from Zee Entertainment.
Zee Cinema (SD & HD), Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Thirai, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Zest (SD & HD), & Pictures HD, and &Flix (SD & HD) channels will also carry the live broadcast. The Indian matches will be live-streamed on the ZEE5 app and website.
ILT20 2023: INAUGURAL EDITION SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
On Tuesday, November 29, the schedule for the first season of the International League T20 (ILT20 2023) was released. The new T20 competition is slated to begin on January 13, 2023, and the championship game is set for February 12, 2023. The inaugural game of the brand-new league will feature a contest between the Dubai Capitals and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
The inaugural ILT20 season will have 34 games in total, with 30 games taking place during the league stage and four games, including the championship game, occurring during the knockout stage.
A total of sixteen games will be contested in Dubai, 10 games in Abu Dhabi, and the remaining eight games in Sharjah. The top four teams in the standings advance to the playoff round after each team plays the other twice.
Similar to the IPL, Qualifier 1 will feature the top two teams on February 8 in Dubai, while the third and fourth-place teams will square off in the Eliminator on February 9 in Sharjah. On February 10 in Dubai, the loser of Qualifier 1 and the victor of the Eliminator will square off. The Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 winners will compete in the ILT20 final.
