UAE players’ availability uncertain ahead of ILT20 season five auction
ILT20 (Source: ILT20)
Published - 29 Sep 2026, 05:41 PM• Read time - 2 mins
The availability of top UAE players for the upcoming fifth edition of DP World ILT20 is under a cloud, with the tournament likely to overlap with the 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifier playoffs. The DP World ILT20 2026 will be played from November 21 to December 20 in the UAE, while the World Cup Qualifier playoffs are set to run from December 1 to 22, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
The auction for the upcoming edition of the tournament will take place on October 1. The ILT20 announced the fifth season's window on April 13, but the ICC is yet to formally announce the World Cup Qualifier playoffs.
According to Cricinfo, it has communicated a tentative window to the Associate countries, with the tournament likely to be in December. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has urged the ICC to push Qualifier playoffs to January, but the request has ended in futility given the tight global calendar.
ILT20 has updated the franchises on the situation and assured that some of the leading UAE players are likely to be part of the fifth season despite the schedule clash.
UAE are currently reeling at the last position in the ICC World Cricket League 2 with eight matches remaining. They need to win a majority of the fixtures to stay in contention for the World Cup playoffs. They will next travel to Dallas to play an ODI tri-series against USA and Namibia, followed by another tri-series against Netherlands and Oman.
ILT20's interim chief operating officer Mike Fordham confirmed that the tournament will overlap with the ICC World Cup Qualifiers and mentioned that UAE players will miss a portion of the tournament.
44 UAE players in the marquee set
"It is possible that UAE may be in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in December, depending on other results before then. If that is the case, then some UAE players will miss a portion of the DP World ILT20 season. Other players not selected would remain fully available in this circumstance, including many of the top performers from the UAE in the league in recent seasons,” Fordham was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Top UAE players, namely Muhammad Waseem, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Alishan Sharafu and Haider Ali, are part of the marquee set in the auction shortlist shared with franchises. Not all the players are part of the WCL 2 series in Dallas.