Undoubtedly, the headlines of premium player transfers have been the talking point for all the major T20 leagues. And the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20) is commensurate with it.
To say the least, the league has brought the world’s finest players to its doorsteps. The overseas players never go out of star casts. But teams can’t just fill their rosters with foreign players.
Thus, there’s, without doubt, a restriction on the total number of players in the ILT20 squads.
This leads us to the main question:
What are the size limits of the squads in the ILT20?
The end of the auction sees the ILT20 teams with at least 19 players. In the case of maximum player limit 21 is the number set.
According to the minimum squad limit assignment teams need to have different numbers of players for each category.
The player categories include:
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International players from ICC Full Member teams
UAE players (local)
Players from Kuwait
Players from Saudi Arabia
International players of other ICC Associate Member teams
The ILT20 teams can’t go below the number of 11 players from ICC Full Member teams. On the other side, the locals’ spot is only for four UAE players.
In a bid to provide more chances to Gulf players, the ILT20 has an option that a franchise can buy one player each from both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. And to ensure more representation from associate nations (besides Kuwait and Saudi Arabia), teams are obliged to take in a minimum of two such players.
Therefore, an ILT20 team can acquire 19 to 21 players via retention, pre-signing, and auction. However, the number can go up to 23.
What’s the reason?
Actually, the ILT20 allows franchises to bring in two players as wildcards. But there are some conditions that come with these additions.
Wildcard Player Rule in the ILT20
Although the wildcard signings are not compulsory, teams can still sign two players such as these beyond the auction.
What is the process of signing wildcard players in the ILT20?
Teams are allowed to add wildcard players either before or during the season. So teams can even bring in a wildcard player halfway through the season.
For illustration, MI Emirates was allowed to use England’s Will Jacks as a wildcard just before the playoffs in the 2025 season. The teams thus get a total free hand in this area.
Interestingly, the money to sign the wildcard player will not be included in the salary cap. Nevertheless, the signing amount cannot exceed 10 percent of the total salary cap.
A franchise is able to sign only one wildcard player and cannot replace them with another one. Thus, teams have to think twice about their signings.
What then is the composition of the playing XI in the ILT20?
The rules regarding the playing XI in the ILT20 are completely different from those in other major T20 leagues. The allowance of teams to have a minimum of two UAE players on the field for the entire match is due to the lack of local talent pool.
And what about the other nine spots? Teams are allowed to fill the remaining nine slots with nine overseas players. Out of the nine spots, one must be an associate player. The rest can be from full member nations.
So the eventual starting XI is composed of nine overseas and two UAE players.
However, the actual mix might vary with the each team’s strategy, Some might prefer to have all four UAE players, while the other seven are overseas ones.
