MI Emirates players celebrate winning the 2024 DP World International League T20 final against Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on February 17, 2024. Photo: ILT20
MI Emirates players celebrate winning the 2024 DP World International League T20 final against Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on February 17, 2024. Photo: ILT20
MI Emirates players celebrate winning the 2024 DP World International League T20 final against Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on February 17, 2024. Photo: ILT20
MI Emirates players celebrate winning the 2024 DP World International League T20 final against Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on February 17, 2024. Photo: ILT20

ILT20 2025: Schedule, tickets, teams and players to watch


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE’s home T20 franchise competition starts on Saturday when the third season of the DP World International T20 gets under way.

The campaign will begin at Dubai International Stadium with a rerun of last year’s final between MI Emirates, the defending champions, and Dubai Capitals.

Opening ceremony

The organisers opted against a starry opening ceremony last year after Jason Derulo performed ahead of the debut season in 2023.

This time around the first match will be prefaced by a performance by Bollywood stars Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde and Sonam Bajwa. That will start at 6pm, with the cricket due to start at 7.15pm.

Schedule

Other than Saturday’s opening night, most matches will start at 6.30pm, with early matches on weekends at 2pm, and the second match on weekends starting at 6pm.

How to watch

The matches can be watched live in the UAE on Abu Dhabi TV, Dubai TV and Myco, as well as the ILT20’s YouTube channel. Talk FM Radio 100.3 will also have commentary.

It will be shown on many of Zee TV’s channels in India, Samsung TV Plus and Rakuten TV in Europe, Tapmad in Pakistan, and Styx Sports in Nepal.

Tickets

Admission starts at Dh15 for six to 16 years, and Dh20 for adults. Tickets are available here.

Teams

The same six teams who started out the first ILT20 two years ago remain – with the only slight amendment being the fact the Sharjah Warriors now have a funky z added to their name, having become the Warriorz.

Gulf Giants were the first winners in 2023, before MI Emirates – an offshoot of IPL side Mumbai Indians – took their title last year.

Dubai Capitals and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are also affiliates of IPL teams, while Desert Vipers have the same owners as Manchester United.

2024 ILT20 team of the tournament

Players to watch

Phil Salt (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders): The world’s No 2-ranked T20I batter has a strong affinity with the UAE capital, having previously represented Team Abu Dhabi in T10.

ADKR’s first match: Sunday, January 12, 2pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Fakhar Zaman (Desert Vipers): The big-hitting left-hander is the biggest name import from Pakistan. He will be back at the grounds where he first made his name in the Pakistan Super League.

Vipers’ first match: Sunday, January 12, 2pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium.

David Warner (Dubai Capitals): Retired from international cricket and in the IPL sidings, but the former Australia opener is likely to remain as competitive as ever.

Capitals’ first game: Saturday, January 11, 7.15pm, Dubai International Stadium.

Dipendra Singh Airee (Gulf Giants): One of a select group to have hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. The Nepal all-rounder is one of the most electric fielders in the world.

Giants’ first game: Sunday, January 12, 6pm, Dubai International Stadium.

Muhammad Waseem (MI Emirates): Everyone knows about his MI batting colleague Nicholas Pooran. But more people should know about the brilliance of the UAE captain.

MI’s first game: Saturday, January 11, 7.15pm, Dubai International Stadium.

Tim Southee (Sharjah Warriorz): Ended a great New Zealand Test career earlier this winter. Now he will be captaining the Sharjah franchise in ILT20.

Warriorz’s first game: Sunday, January 12, 6pm, Dubai International Stadium.

Home hopes

Two places per starting XI are reserved for UAE-based players. They do not need to be eligible just yet for the national team, but at least be in the process of qualifying.

Rohan Mustafa, the long-serving former national team captain, has switched from Desert Vipers to Sharjah Warriorz for the new season. He will play alongside fellow UAE players Mohammed Jawadullah and Junaid Siddique.

The Vipers have Dhruv Parashar, Ali Naseer and Tanish Suri, a young trio in whom great hopes are invested for the future of UAE cricket.

Big-hitting middle-order batter Saghir Khan is an intriguing signing for Gulf Giants, where spin duo Aayan Khan and Zuhaib Zubair excelled last season.

Alishan Sharafu remains key to AD Knight Riders’ hopes, having made his name with them last season against an all-star Vipers bowling attack.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Fixtures
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
Tips for used car buyers
  • Choose cars with GCC specifications
  • Get a service history for cars less than five years old
  • Don’t go cheap on the inspection
  • Check for oil leaks
  • Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
  • Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
  • Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
  • Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
  • If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

Results
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Company%C2%A0profile
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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
War and the virus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare

Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.

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Updated: January 08, 2025, 8:36 AM`