The third season of the DP World ILT20 starts on January 11 with defending champions MI Emirates playing last season’s runners-up Dubai Capitals at the Dubai Sports Stadium.

This 2025 season will conclude on February 9, with six franchises vying for the trophy across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. 

Led by Nicholas Pooran, MI Emirates won the IPLT20 title in 2024 and now are eying a second trophy. They look the favourites given the presence of Pooran, coming off a sensational 2024 in T20 cricket, Kieron Pollard, the top-ranked T20I bowler in Akleal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kusal Perera, Tom Banton and new signing AM Ghazanfar.

Ghazanfar, all of 18 years old, made heads turn in 2024 when he made his ODI and Test debuts for Afghanistan. The all-sorts spinner claimed 21 wickets from 11 ODI matches at an average of under 14 each, and now heads into his second ILT20 stint after earlier being part of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders’ setup. 

Gulf Giants, who won the ILT20 in its first season and made it to the playoffs in 2024, look a tougher side with the additions of globetrotting Australian big-hitter Tim David and the experienced England pair of Tymal Mills and Tom Curran. Led by James Vince and with Zimbabwean legend Andy Flower as coach, Gulf Giants have on their roster a set of retentions that include Chris Jordan, Shimron Hetmyer and Jordan Cox and among their new recruits are Adam Lyth, Ibrahim Zadran and Mark Adair.

Vince is the ILT20’s top run-getter with 795 from 23 games and Jordan the most successful wicket-taker with 31 from 21 appearances. Gulf Giants play their opening match on January 12 against Sharjah Warriors in Dubai.

Sharjah Warriors will be captained by the internationally retired Tim Southee, making his first appearance in the ILT20. “It was a nice way to finish my international career with a win for New Zealand and now I am really looking forward to this tournament. I am excited to be part of the ILT20,” said the 36-year-old pace bowler, who joins a squad comprising of fellow Kiwis in Adam Milne and Tim Seifert.

Sharjah Warriors have on their roster plenty of international experience, with Southee able to call on the likes of Adil Rashid, Ashton Agar, Daniel Sams, Matthew Wade, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jason Roy, Kusal Mendis, Dilshan Madushanka, Johnson Charles, Luke Wells and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. 

Sharjah Warriors’ most experience bowler, England’s white-ball titan Rashid, is confident of the team’s chances. “The Sharjah Warriorz are not going to look too far ahead, and it’s about playing the game that’s in front of you and executing the plans to perfection. It’s a game of cricket and there are ups and downs, so we want to keep things really simple. Whatever challenges lie ahead of us we want to win that battle first and then move onto the next,” he told reporters in Dubai this week. 

England allrounder Sam Curran, not in favour with the national selectors back home, but who in 2024 won The Hundred with Oval Invincibles and the County Championship with Surrey, is hopeful of channeling winning ways into the Desert Vipers squad. 

“I guess I love winning trophies. Any player loves winning trophies and the last couple of years I have won a couple, which has been really nice,” said the 26-year-old ahead of the Vipers’ opening match against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on January 12. 

Curran returns to a good-looking Vipers squad led by New Zealand quick Lockie Ferguson and consisting of international stars such as Alex Hales, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Amir, Fakhar Zaman and Sherfane Rutherford.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have kept faith in the familiar West Indian pair of skipper Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, and have acquired Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers and Gudakesh Motie and Phil Salt. The explosive Salt has been picked as a Wildcard after the franchise let go of former England opener Roy. The Knight Riders had previously retained, among several local and overseas players, Ali Khan, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Laurie Evans and Joe Clarke. 

Skippered by David Warner, last year’s losing finalists Dubai Capitals retained a crop of international cricketers in Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza, Sam Billings, Ollie Stone and Jake Fraser-McGurk, to name a few. Among their new signings are Adam Rossington (Wildcard), Ben Dunk, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Shai Hope and Obed McCoy.