The UAE's Cashed-Up T20 League Is Ready To Make A Serious Mark In Cricket
After months of conjecture, stirring heated debate among cricket administrators, the new cashed-up T20 league in the UAE, backed by wealthy businessmen, is set to make waves in the sport
The new UAE UAE cashed-up T20 league is now ready for launch after months of speculation and heated debate at the ICC board. The tournament, which has been running for a month, aims to become the second largest T20 franchise in the world after the Indian Premier League. The tournament has made a great start, offering top players around $450,000, the largest purse outside of IPL. The game is being played in the UAE at a perfect time, which means that ILT20 will compete with other T20 leagues such as the inaugural edition in South Africa or Australia's established Big Bash League. The ILT20 has been able to attract a lot of top players from the BBL due to the generous remuneration. Many big names have been attracted to the ILT20. This has caused considerable anger, particularly from Pakistan where the ILT20 caused its T20 leagues to begin right after the ILT20. Ramiz Raja, the then Pakistan Cricket Board boss, had been a vocal critic of ILT20 allowing up nine foreign players per team. He had told me in September that he hoped for further discussion at the ICC board meeting last November. The tournament's structure was supported by ILT20 officials, but nothing happened. "Speakes volumes about the league's plans to develop players and expose them all to professional T20 leagues. It has a significant broadcast deal and financial strength. The ILT20 is finally here, after much anticipation and possibly trepidation from certain quarters.