ILT20 2025-26 Dates Announced; Set To Finish Just before T20 World Cup 2026

Big news is coming around about the new season of the International League T20 before the start of the IPL 2025, which is all set to restart from May 17, 2025, with the remaining matches taking place at the selected venues. However, there are still some issues with foreign players returning for the remainder of the IPL season.

The WTC 2025 final and the West Indies tour of England are scheduled for the coming days. As a result, some concerns have arisen between franchises and the management. But, in the meantime, there was a recent announcement about the International League T20, a franchise-based league held once a year in the United Arab Emirates. The ILT20 chief executive has issued an important statement about the new season of the ILT20.

ILT20 Schedule Announced

The updates about the new season of ILT20 schedule were provided by the league's social media handle. While the league's starting and end dates have been revealed, the whole schedule will be announced later.

David White on ILT20

Recently, ILT20 CEO David White issued a statement to the media that “ILT20 2025 will begin on December 2, 2025, and run till January 4, 2026. Without clashing with the other leagues like SA20, PSL, and BPL.” However, it will overlap with the BBL in that timeframe. The league final will take place on the UAE's national day, Eid al-Etihad, which is perfect for the nation.

White further added that, “Following extensive discussions with all our stakeholders, we believe the window that we provided for this tournament is ideal for the DP World International League T20 Season 4.” Because it is important to all of the players in this league to finish the season early, as the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled for the month of February, and each cricketer will require some time to recover and then practice with their teams after the ILT20 2025 ends.

Khalil Al Zarooni, the ILT20 chairman and vice-chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, stated in the announcement that, “The UAE National Day is the day where we celebrate the United Arab Emirates, which is home to people from around the world, including millions of diehard cricket fans. It is a real honor for us to join the nation in the UAE National Day 2025 celebrations with the launch of the region’s biggest T20 league - the DP World ILT20 Season 4 - on the same day.”

Dubai Capitals - The Defending ILT20 Champions

ILT20 is a franchise-based cricket league that plays in a 20-over format between six teams from the UAE. Several quality cricketers from around the world compete in this league, which is divided into teams such as Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, and Sharjah Warriors. All of the teams encounter in two legs over a few weeks for the coveted ILT20 title, which has been won by only three teams so far: Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Dubai Capitals.

The upcoming 2025-26 edition of the ILT20 will be the league's fourth season, with the Dubai Capitals defending their title. So, it will be interesting to see who wins one of the most prestigious T20 cricket leagues in its fourth season. Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed a few months ago that the next season of SA20 2026 will begin on December 26. So, the players will have some good game time before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.