"VAN" (Sports Desk - 08.10.2026) :: Defending champions Desert Vipers will take on last year’s finalists and Season 2 champions MI Emirates in the opening match of the DP World International League T20 Season 5 at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday, 21 November. The first ball will be delivered at 6:30pm – all the tournament’s evening matches will start at the same time.
The season’s second fixture will be a clash between the Sharjah Warriorz and Season 1 champions Gulf Giants – the fixture will be the season’s first match at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium and will be played from 2:00pm on Sunday, 22 November (all afternoon matches will start at the same time). Season 3 champions Dubai Capitals will launch their title hunt against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at their home venue – the Dubai International Stadium – the second match of the Super Sunday double-header.
Abu Dhabi will host its first match on Thursday, 26 November, when Abu Dhabi Knight Riders take on MI Emirates at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The DP World ILT20 will celebrate the UAE National Day (Eid Al Etihad) on 2 December amid the traditional festivities with a double-header cricketing extravaganza. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will host the Desert Vipers at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in the afternoon clash while Dubai Capitals will host MI Emirates at the Dubai International Stadium in the evening clash.
Each team will play 10 matches in the double round-robin 34-match tournament. At the end of the 30-match group stage, the top four teams in the points table will progress to the four-match playoffs which will culminate with the Season 5 final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, 20 December 2026. The 30-day competition will feature six days of double-header action.
A total of 15 tournament matches will be played at the Dubai International Stadium. Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Cricket Stadium will play host to 11 matches and Sharjah Cricket Stadium will take the centre stage for eight fixtures.
DP World ILT20 Season 5 will feature some of the game’s biggest stars, including Moeen Ali, Usman Tariq and Finn Allen (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Babar Azam, Shimron Hetmyer and Naseem Shah (Desert Vipers), Faf du Plessis, Marcus Stoinis and Mustafizur Rahman (Dubai Capitals), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone and David Miller (Gulf Giants), Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran and Fazalhaq Farooqi (MI Emirates), and Mohammad Nabi, Sikandar Raza and Adil Rashid (Sharjah Warriorz).
Responses
Leave your comment