The International League T20 (ILT20) 2024 kicked off amid much fanfare with games in Sharjah and Dubai. Several big overseas players left their Big Bash League (BBL) and SA20 commitments midway to feature for their respective ILT20 teams since they offer more competent salaries. With the likes of David Warner, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Rovman Powell and Dwayne Bravo among who's who of T20 cricket playing the tournament, ILT20 has become a great business proposition and recently got the official status as well.
As per the ICC guidelines, the T20 leagues hosted or organised by countries apart from full-member nations won't have a List-A T20 status and hence the titles, records and stats (batting, bowling or fielding), and number of matches for any of the players - nothing will be counted. Similarly, other leagues such as Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA or the Global T20 Canada and the T10 leagues around the world, are sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) but since they are hosted and organised by associate nations, they are not recognised as List-A T20s.
However, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ILT20 became the first Associate nation-run league to get official status in December. The ILT20 CEO David White had expressed his excitement saying that getting the official status was a huge milestone in the league's journey and reflected the strength of the tournament. "Earning the List A status is a major milestone for the DP World International League T20. We would like to thank the ICC for the acknowledgement. The recognition is a clear indication of the strength and stature of our league," White said.
ILT20 was among these leagues till last year, which were sanctioned by the ICC and hence are able to get overseas players and their home boards allow NOCs for the same. However, otherwise, they could be categorised as disapproved cricket and the players and even the fans could be liable for fines.
Even the IPL franchises invested and have three teams and can get the players from teams in other leagues as well and have made the league marketable. It is great news for the fans and the players and the tournament overall as the runs scored and wickets taken and all the other stats will be officially recorded given the quality of the players ILT20 has been able to attract.
