The much-awaited cash-rich International League T20 (ILT20) gets underway on Friday in the United Arab Emirates and will run through to February 17.

Matches, 34 in total, will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

There are six teams and many have links to IPL teams. The teams are Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Sharjah Warriors.

The six teams will compete in a double round-robin format between January 19 and February 11, with two points available for a win and one point for a tie.

The top four teams will then move into the playoffs (February 13 – February 17), with the first and second-placed teams competing for direct entry to the final. The loser of that clash will face the winner of the eliminator (third versus fourth) for a spot in the trophy showdown.

This year’s tournament overlaps with two other leagues, namely Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) and South Africa’s SA20. However, with lucrative contracts on offer, the ILT20 has attracted a strong array of quality foreign players.

The squads are as follows:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

Ali Khan, Andre Russell, Brandon McMullen, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Jake Lintott, Joe Clarke, Josh Little, Laurie Evans, Marchant de Lange, Matiullah Khan, Michael Pepper, Ravi Bopara, Sabir Ali, Sam Hain, Sunil Narine, Imad Wasim

Desert Vipers

Adam Hose, Alex Hales, Ali Naseer, Azam Khan, Bas de Leede, Colin Munro, Dinesh Chandimal, Gus Atkinson, Luke Wood, Matheesha Pathirana, Michael Jones, Rohan Mustafa, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sheldon Cottrell, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nathan Sowter, Dan Lawrence

Dubai Capitals

Andrew Tye, Dasun Shanaka, David Warner, Dushmantha Chameera, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Max Holden, Mohammad Mohsin, Nuwan Thushara, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Raja Akif, Roman Powell, Roelof van der Merwe, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza

Gulf Giants

Aayan Afzal Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Dominic Drakes, Gerhard Erasmus, Jamie Overton, James Vince, Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Karim Janat, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Rehan Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, Sanchit Sharma, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shimon Hetmyer

MI Emirates

Akeal Hosein, Ambati Rayudu, Andre Fletcher, Corey Anderson, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, Kusal Perera, McKenny Clarke, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran (c), Nosthush Kenjige, Odean Smith, Trent Boult, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Waqar Salamkheil, Will Smeed, Zahoor Khan

Sharjah Warriors

Chris Sole, Chris Woakes, Daniel Sams, Dilshan Madushanka, James Fuller, Joe Denly, Johnson Charles, Junaid Siddique, Kusal Mendis, Lewis Gregory, Mahesh Theekshana, Mark Deyal, Mark Watt, Martin Guptill, Muhammad Jawadullah, Qais Ahmad, Sean Williams, Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Match schedule

Ariana Television Network has once again secured live and exclusive rights to broadcast this exciting tournament in Afghanistan.

Friday’s opening match will start at 7pm Kabul time, but tune in live on Ariana Television from 6pm for the pre-match program.