As part of the upcoming fifth season for ILT20, a brand new squad composition rule has been put in place, requiring each franchise to include four players from Afghanistan and one from Ireland in their roster.
The rules on this were issued in a recent newsletter to all franchises participating in season five of the competition, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates between November 22 and December 20. The four Afghanistan and one Ireland players will count toward the limit of 11 overseas players in a franchised roster ranging from 21 to 23 players.
Regulations provided by ILT20 to the franchises indicate that “there must be at least 11 full member players in every team.” Of the 11 full member players, at least four must be from Afghanistan and at least one must be from Ireland.
This new requirement falls under a bigger initiative to ensure that the squads are composed of players from various countries. There is an additional requirement for each franchise to have at least 11 full-member players on their roster. Furthermore, teams will need to have four players from the UAE; one capped player; and one cricketer who is under 23 years of age.
There has been a further addition of diversity to the league by mandating the inclusion of 2 players from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, respectively. Additionally, all teams will be required to sign one non-UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Kuwaiti player from an associate country.
The ILT20 has established the use of the term ‘Mandatory Players’ for all of the above-listed players. Clarifying in a letter sent to franchises, the league has indicated that every squad must contain 4 players from Afghanistan, 1 player from Ireland, 4 players from the UAE, and 2 players from the GCC countries (1 from Saudi Arabia, 1 from Kuwait) who will be known as “Mandatory Players.”
While the exact reasoning behind the Afghanistan and Ireland quotas has not been made public, it has been reported that this decision may have involved a larger overall agreement between the Emirates, Afghanistan, and Ireland Cricket Boards and is believed to enhance the cricketing relationship between these countries and assist in creating additional playing opportunities for players from both nations.
The upcoming season’s financial regulations are also determined. In a document made available to Cricbuzz by ILT20, they outline that a maximum of USD 2 million can be budgeted for each franchise’s player salaries. Each franchise must have no less than USD 1.5 million available to budget for players via player retentions, player signings, or the player auction.
Players’ minimum salaries will have been set at USD 10,000, while players have no difficulty earning a salary beyond that amount. Each franchise will also be able to sign a minimum of one Wildcard Player to add to their team when signing players to their standard team’s roster and will not count as part of the franchise’s total player’s salary budgets.
The six franchises that will participate in ILT20 are MI Emirates, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Sharjah Warriorz, and Gulf Giants. The Desert Vipers will look to defend their championship.
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