Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will face off in the opening match of the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates on January 13.
The Dubai International Stadium will host both the tournament’s opening game and its finale which will take place on February 12. There will be a total of 34 games in the tournament—30 in the league stage and then the four playoff games.
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will play host a total of 16 encounters. Further 10 games will be held at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium, while the remaining eight games will be played at the Sharjah International Stadium. Five days, all on the weekends, have been earmarked for doubleheaders.
All six teams in the competition, including Desert Vipers, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Sharjah Warriors, in addition to the Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, will play each other twice, with the top four making it through to the playoffs. The two finalists will then be determined by an eliminator and two qualifiers, similar to the Indian Premier League.
Currently, the ILT20 will take place during a jam-packed January 2023 calendar that will also include a number of other franchise leagues. The SA20, a new T20 league in South Africa, has released schedules for games from January 10 to February 11.
The Big Bash League, which begins in December and carries on until February 4, will also clash with the other leagues during that time. The Bangladesh Premier League is anticipated to take place within the same time period as the PSL’s 2023 season, which is scheduled to start on February 9.
The ILT20 will feature several well-known players, like Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Moeen Ali, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sikandar Raza, and Dasun Shanaka, despite the fact that all leagues are playing simultaneously.
The league’s top players are expected to have contracts worth around 450,000 dollars per season, making it the second-most lucrative T20 league after the IPL.
