We already have franchise competitions underway in Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa and the UAE is about to join the party when the inaugural International League T20 competition gets started out in the desert.
Six teams have been put together for the ILT20 competition with three of them owned by IPL franchises and three others coming from elsewhere. Despite the other competitions going on some standout players head to the UAE for the tournament which should be very competitive.
The Format
The six teams play each other twice in the round robin format of the tournament and at the end of that stage we lose the bottom two sides in the standings. The top four move into the playoffs with the top two sides meeting for a direct place into the final. Third and fourth take each other on in a knockout match with the winner of that facing the loser of the other game for a spot in the final against the team who won the first playoff game. 34 matches in total with all the action live and exclusive on BT Sport in the UK.
The Teams
As with the SA20 tournament which recently started, the Mumbai Indians have a team in this competition and they are around the 11/4 favourites to win it. That team is the MI Emirates who I think it is fair to say have no shortage of experience. There are a lot of seasoned campaigners in the team led by Kieron Pollard. It also includes Dwayne Bravo, Samit Patel and Imran Tahir all of whom are deep into their career. Power with the bat will come from Will Smeed and Nicholas Pooran while Trent Boult will look to lead the bowling attack. I can see why this team are the favourites but I would worry about them in the field so I’m happy to look elsewhere.
The Desert Vipers are the second favourites to win the competition at around the 4/1 mark. They are one of the sides who aren’t owned by an IPL franchise but that doesn’t look to have detracted them when it comes to attracting players as there are some standout men in their squad. Colin Munro will lead the team and he has been in good form in the Big Bash leading into the event. Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Adam Lyth and Sherfane Rutherford provide batting depth while with the ball the variations of Tom Curran and Benny Howell will be important while Wanindu Hasaranga is the standout spinner in the tournament. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Vipers are around deep into the competition.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders are aligned with the Kolkata Knight Riders from the IPL and they are the third favourites to win the first running of this competition. They are another team whose experience catches the eye with captain Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Colin Ingram experienced all around the world. Paul Stirling is one of the better associate players in the competition and if the likes of Akeal Hosein and Dhananjaya de Silva back Narine up in the spin department it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Knight Riders go well but you suspect it will need Narine and Russell to stay injury free which is anything but a given these days.
The Dubai Capitals are the other team owned by an IPL franchise, the Delhi Capitals in their case. They could be the sleeper dark horse for the tournament at around the 5/1 mark because there is a squad that everyone performs to their potential could be tricky to face. Rovman Powell captained the Jamaica Tallawahs and he’ll have an in form Dasun Shanaka and Joe Root to assist him. If the likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Hazratullah Zazai can rediscover their form and Sikandar Raza and Ravi Bopara are in good nick then this team can go well. They probably lack a standout seam option at the death which could ultimately be their undoing.
The Sharjah Warriors are the second to last team in the betting at about 11/2 but they look to have a nicely balanced squad and one which is built to succeed in Sharjah where the boundaries are short and big scores will be required. Captain Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Chris Benjamin bring plenty of power as does Marcus Stoinis when he arrives. If the Warriors are caught out anywhere it could be in the seam department but Chris Woakes and Naveen-ul-Haq are solid operators at this level. This lot are the dark horses for the event for me.
The Gulf Giants make up the list of teams in the competition. They will be captained by T20 Blast winning captain James Vince and have a strong English contingent in their squad which is definitely no bad thing these days given the success they are having. Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Ollie Pope have all represented England in one format or another in the last 12 months and players likes Chris Lynn, Shimron Hetmyer, David Wiese and Qais Ahmad balance the squad nicely. If they can find someone to deliver the goods at the death the Giants might surprise a few.
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Outright Betting
I think the Sharjah Warriors could have been the dark horses in the tournament but they are going to be ravaged by England call ups when their ODI series with South Africa begins. That means the likes of Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes are going to miss a couple of weeks of the tournament and that isn’t good. That makes me side with the other team I like which is the Desert Vipers whose England players have avoided involvement in that upcoming ODI series.
The Vipers have three batters in great form in Colin Munro, Sam Billings and Alex Hales while it won’t take much for Adam Lyth, Sherfane Rutherford and Dinesh Chandimal to catch fire with the bat. Bowlers win these tournaments though and in Wanindu Hasaranga when he arrives, Tom Curran, Benny Howell, Tymal Mills and Jake Lintott there is a lot of variety and options available to Munro to utilise. I think the Vipers could be the safest play here.
Top Batter
We have a couple of firms who have priced up a top batter market for the tournament and it is quite a competitive one as far as the odds go by but I think there is an obvious and standout way to get involved in this one. That is to take a Sharjah Warriors batter. They play all five of their home matches on this ground and only two other games take place in Sharjah which don’t involve the Warriors and four different teams are involved in them.
That doesn’t necessarily stand to reason that the top scorer will come from Sharjah as sometimes the wickets can play awkwardly but the boundaries are so much smaller and accessible than the other two venues. We can’t take Moeen, Malan or Stoinis as they are all going to be away for parts of the tournament so it is Evin Lewis that I like. He is a big hitter who is used to playing on slow wickets and small grounds in the Caribbean and who has a point to prove after a tough period for West Indies. If he gets in across two or three matches in Sharjah he could steal a march on the rest of the competition.
Top Bowler
We also have a market for the top bowler in the competition as well but unlike the batter there isn’t really a significant advantage to be had here. Once again though it is important to avoid England players who are in their ODI squad as they will be disappearing midway through the competition. The Sri Lanka players that are involved in their ODI series in India are going to miss the first weekend of the competition as well so that needs to be taken into account.
I think Akeal Hosein could be a big price here. I want a spinner on my side because this tournament is fast and furious and the pitches are going to tire the longer the competition goes on. Hosein was one of the leading wicket takers in his time at the Big Bash and has the ability to bowl in the powerplay but he can also bowl in the later part of the innings as well. With doubts over some of the market leaders and others disappearing as we go along I’ll take the West Indies man to run well in this event.
Tips
Back Desert Vipers to win ILT20 2023 for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with Bet365
Back E.Lewis Top Tournament Batter (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 13.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
Back A.Hosein Top Tournament Bowler for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Betway
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