ILT20: BT Sport to show UAE T20 league

BT Sport will broadcast the first edition of The International League T20 (ILT20), the United Arab Emirates franchise league featuring some of the world’s best T20 players.

The six-team competition will take place during January and February in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE, with every game to be shown live on BT Sport.

Here is everything you need to know about the brand-new competition.

When is it?

The ILT20 begins on Friday 13 January, with the final scheduled for Sunday 12 February.

The first game is between Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at Dubai International Stadium.

Which teams are involved?

Six teams will compete for the inaugural ILT20 trophy: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors.

What players are involved?

A number of high-profile players have signed up, including Joe Root who has been rested for England’s upcoming ODI series in South Africa.

England’s former Test captain will play for the Dubai Capitals in his first appearance in an overseas T20 competition since the 2018-19 Big Bash League in Australia.

A whole host of England stars are set to feature alongside Root including Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Dawid Malan, Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Rehan Ahmed.

Other notable names include Trent Boult, Marcus Stoinis, Imran Tahir, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Mohammad Nabi and Kieron Pollard.

Nine out of 11 players on each team can be from overseas, significantly more than most major global T20 leagues.

Full squads:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

Coach: TBA

Captain: Sunil Narine

Andre Russell, Jonny Bairstow, Paul Stirling, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ravi Rampaul, Raymond Reifer, Kennar Lewis, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Matiullah Khan, Fahad Nawaz, Sabir Ali, Zawar Farid

Dubai Capitals

Coach: Phil Simmons

Captain: Rovman Powell

Dushmantha Chameera, Hazratullah Zazai, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sikandar Raza, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dan Lawrence, Blessing Muzarabani, Isuru Udana, George Munsey, Fred Klaassen, Hazrat Luqman, Chirag Suri, Jash Ginyani, Raja Akif Ullah Khan, Robin Uthappa, Ravi Bopara, Yusuf Pathan, Joe Root, Ollie White

Gulf Giants

Coach: Andy Flower

Captain: James Vince

Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Tom Banton, Dominic Drakes, David Wiese, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Rehan Ahmed, Wayne Madsen, Liam Dawson, Qais Ahmad, Ollie Pope, Aayan Khan, Sanchit Sharma, CP Rizwaan, Ashwant Valthapa

MI Emirates

Coach: Shane Bond

Captain: Kieron Pollard

Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Andre Fletcher, Imran Tahir, Samit Patel, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Brad Wheal, Bas de Leede, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Craig Overton, Tom Lammonby, Dan Mousley, McKenny Clarke, Lorcan Tucker

Sharjah Warriors

Coach: Paul Farbrace

Captain: Moeen Ali

Evin Lewis, Dawid Malan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Chris Benjamin, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, JJ Smit, Mark Deyal, Noor Ahmad, Paul Walter, Naveen-ul-Haq, Bilal Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah, Joe Denly, Marcus Stoinis

Desert Vipers

Coach: James Foster

Captain: Colin Munro

Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Benny Howell, Ruben Trumpelmann, Sam Billings, Sheldon Cottrell, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana, Mark Watt, Tymal Mills, Adam Lyth, Rohan Mustafa, Sheraz Ahmad, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Gus Atkinson, Dinesh Chandimal, Jake Lintott

What is the format?

There are 34 matches, with the six teams playing each other twice in a double round robin format between Friday 13 January and Monday 6 February. Two points will be awarded for a win and one for a tie.

The top two will face off for a place in the final with the loser taking on the winner of the eliminator match between third and fourth for a place in the final on Sunday 12 February.

How can I watch it?

BT Sport will show live coverage of every game from the competition on TV and online on btsport.com and the BT Sport app.

Our full cricket schedule can be found here.