The third season of ILT20 is done and dusted. The Dubai Capitals won the tournament after defeating the Desert Vipers by four wickets in the final at the Dubai International Stadium. The league, in its third season, has shown tremendous improvement. However, ILT20's clash with SA20 has been a major sticking point, forcing players to be in and out of the tournament.
However, ILT20 CEO David White reckons the clash is inevitable as the geography of cricket doesn't allow for every T20 league to have a separate window. It needs to be mentioned that by the time the 3rd season of ILT20 began, three other leagues were being played simultaneously – Big Bash, SA20, and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in different parts of the world.
"I think you know what's really interesting with league cricket is that if you look at it global cricket, there's only probably England and a little bit of the West Indies that's in the northern hemisphere. So, the rest of the cricket around the world, international cricket or leagues is played in the southern hemisphere. Hence, all those countries have got to play cricket at the same time," White told Hindustan Times.
"At this time of year you've got New Zealand playing, you've got Australia playing, you've got Bangladesh playing, you've got South Africa playing. It is a reality of the geography of cricket and for the UAE obviously we play in the winter because it's just too hot in the summer. So that is in the same southern hemisphere window. So I think people forget the geography of cricket. There's so many southern hemisphere teams all playing at the same time. So I think you're always going to get some overlap," he added.
'Will look to have more players from UAE in playing XI of all teams'
{{/usCountry}}"At this time of year you've got New Zealand playing, you've got Australia playing, you've got Bangladesh playing, you've got South Africa playing. It is a reality of the geography of cricket and for the UAE obviously we play in the winter because it's just too hot in the summer. So that is in the same southern hemisphere window. So I think people forget the geography of cricket. There's so many southern hemisphere teams all playing at the same time. So I think you're always going to get some overlap," he added.
'Will look to have more players from UAE in playing XI of all teams'
{{/usCountry}}The third edition of ILT20 saw certain UAE players come to the forefront for their franchises. Currently, only two UAE players feature in the playing XI of all teams, while the other nine are international players from different countries. White, however, believes the league's management will look to ensure more players from UAE feature in the playing XI going forward.
"Well so, very good point. Something that we would like to think in years to come there'll be more and more UAE players and associate players and it's something that we'll be considering this coming season. But I've got to say we've been delighted with the performances of the UAE players and they're really pushing for that change," he said.
'Nine overseas players make ILT20 very strong'
The ILT20 supremo says having nine international players in the playing XI of all teams ensures that the competition stays strong and that there are consistently good games on offer.
"What makes us quite unique is that firstly we can have nine overseas players so that makes it very strong. So you know we obviously have the UAE players and also associate players as well but also what's quite unique about this league is it's played here in the UAE with a fantastic time of the year. The weather's beautiful, three world-class stadiums and the players love it because it's safe and they don't have to fly from destination to destination," he said.
"They can go by bus and they really enjoy it. It's an opportunity to play in great stadiums but also they can bring their families and enjoy all the best that UAE can offer. So I think it's quite a unique league and we're lucky that we've been able to get such great world-class players as well."