The UAE cricket league that lets teams field nine overseas players
Most franchise T20 leagues cap overseas players at four or five per side. The International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates allows nine of the eleven, while insisting on one Emirati and one player from an ICC Associate nation. It also became the first Associate-run league granted official List A status.
The Emirates Cricket Board unveiled the league in June 2022, hoping to put the UAE on the map as a major stop in the cricket calendar. After some scheduling delays the first edition ran from 13 January to 12 February 2023. Six city franchises took part, and several shared owners with Indian Premier League sides; the groups behind Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders both bought in.
Titles have spread around. Gulf Giants beat Desert Vipers in the first final. MI Emirates took the second season by defeating Dubai Capitals by 45 runs, Dubai Capitals won in 2025, and Desert Vipers claimed the 2025-26 edition. That fourth season started on 2 December 2025, earlier than before, to stay clear of the Men's T20 World Cup in February 2026. It also brought the league's first player auction, replacing the old draft, with each team allowed to spend up to USD 800,000 at the Dubai sale.
Several playing rules differ from the norm. Each side may name seven possible replacements and bring on one Super Sub per match, either before an innings begins, after a dismissal or retirement, or between overs. The heavy reliance on overseas talent has drawn criticism from several Full Member nations, who want more local players required, and crowds were thin partly because Indian cricketers do not take part. Viewing figures told another story: the first two seasons drew 340 million views worldwide, 108 million of them from India.
Zee Entertainment bought the media rights in May 2021 for ten years, 2023 to 2032, at US$120 million. The trophy, by London silversmiths Thomas Lyte, stands 830mm tall to echo the 830m Burj Khalifa, with a falcon shape and a seven-pointed crown for the seven emirates.
Source: International League T20
