As four pretty big T20 competitions continue on their merry way, yet another one gets started on Saturday when the ILT20 season begins with six franchises all having the same ambition which is to take down the title.
The MI Emirates did exactly that a year ago when they replaced the Gulf Giants as the champions and the franchise powered by the Mumbai Indians will be looking to keep hold of the crown but the other sides have strengthened in a bid to stop that from happening.
Recent Winners
2024 – MI Emirates
2023 – Gulf Giants
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 Zee TV in the UK. The substitute in a parallel with the impact player that was in the IPL that was brought in last season remains this term.
The Teams
MI Emirates are the defending champions this season and they are no bigger than 19/10 to keep hold of their title. It is hard to go against a powerful franchise like this one, one which has the services of Nicholas Pooran, Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard and Akeal Hosein among others. The Emirates haven’t really lost anyone of huge significance from the squad that they had that won the title and so they are going to be very much the team to beat.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders were third in the table last year but lost out in the Eliminator yet despite that they are into 7/2 to win this competition for the first time. That was an improvement last season because they were horrible in the inaugural campaign, although that might have been down to a poor run for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the owners of this franchise. They will have to replace the wickets of Imad Wasim but the power batting of Phil Salt is very much a boost to their chances.
The Desert Vipers come next in the betting at 5/1. They were heavy underperformers last season having failed to make the playoffs in a six team competition. Getting back into the top four will be their immediate aim and if their bowlers can turn up with more to offer this time around then they should be able to do that. Wanindu Hasaranga should be the star man when he arrives from international duty while David Payne looks a good replacement for Tymal Mills. If Sam Curran can be the player he was when England won the T20 World Cup three years ago the Vipers could well be the big improvers.
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The Dubai Capitals finished fourth in the standings last season but were able to win a couple of knockout matches and made the final and they are 7/1 to go one better this time around. They might be a team who work their way into the season because their captain David Warner starts the season at the Big Bash League but the foundation of their success last season, their bowling unit, is largely back together and with the bat Rovman Powell might well be the better finishing option to Jason Holder who has left for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
Gulf Giants were the inaugural winners of this competition when they blazed a trail to the first title and while things were much more difficult for them in their title defence, they do know how to get it done in this event. They will have to replace the runs of Chris Lynn who isn’t around this season while Tom Curran has been injured towards the end of his stint in the Big Bash and Chris Jordan won’t arrive until that competition has finished. The Giants look to have a lot of depth with the bat but their bowling might be light until the English pair arrive.
Sharjah Warriorz are the outsiders of the sextet at 9/1 and that probably looks a fair reflection for the team who finished bottom of the pile last season. That was with the services of Maheesh Theekshana and he will make his way to the SA20 rather than this competition this year. Daniel Sams’ attendance might be in question too with him recovering from that collision in the Big Bash and they were the two leading wicket takers last year. Adil Rashid looks a good pickup but the Warriorz do look a little weaker than the rest on paper.
Outright Betting
I think the value pick here is the Desert Vipers. The MI Emirates will be the team to beat but I don’t really like their price and I don’t really see a team who will improve massively unless it is the Vipers. If the Gulf Giants had their bowlers fit and available at the start of the competition I might have put my powder in their direction because I do like their batting depth and they have won it before but that isn’t the case.
The Vipers have added some good players in David Payne and Sam Curran, both of whom could be options at the death and are likely to be useful with a soft ball in these conditions. Sherfane Rutherford has delivered some good T20 innings down the order recently and Fakhar Zaman should be a good addition at the top of the order so this Vipers side does look a lot stronger than it has in the past. At 5/1 I’ll pay to see how well they go here.
Tips
Back Desert Vipers to win ILT20 2025 for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with William Hill
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