The third edition of the ILT20 will be on a collision course with the BBL and possibly the SA20 in 2025. The ILT20, a six-team franchise-based competition in the UAE, will run from 11 January to 9 February 2025, according to the schedule announced on Friday.
While the dates for both the BBL and SA20 haven't yet been announced, the former will run until January 26, while the latter will start shortly after the New Year's Test against Pakistan in Cape Town on January 7. Another potential clash could be South Africa's visit to Pakistan for an ODI series in preparation for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is scheduled for mid-February, also in Pakistan.
Adding to the complexity of the ILT20 is a potential clash with the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), although the ILT20 is a far more lucrative proposition for top players. These clashes with other leagues have led to a high turnover of players throughout the ILT20, with teams signing players for exclusive windows as players jet in and out of the competition.
The BBL suffered a mass exodus of overseas players for the finals series last season when the ILT20 started on January 19, but a few overseas players were able to at least play most of the regular season before heading to the UAE. That will not be the case next summer for those contracted for the ILT20.
The BBL had hoped to offset any potential clashes with overseas leagues by having Australia's home-grown Test stars available after the Sydney Test against India on January 7. But Australia has a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka scheduled for late January/early February and it is understood the Test players may only be available for three BBL matches, if that, depending on who needs rest after five Tests against India in seven weeks.
Speaking to ESPNcricnfo recently, ILT20 CEO David White admitted that the January-February 2025 window was a crowded one with the "added complication" of the Champions Trophy. White had said the ILT20 would look at all options, including moving the window to the October-November period, subject to the ICC's FTP, which includes bilateral commitments.
Ultimately, the ILT20, which was granted List A status by the ICC ahead of the 2024 season, decided to stick with the same window that the tournament has been played in for the past two years.
Last week, in an effort to avoid an increasingly crowded December-February window, which also includes the eight-team Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a radical move to move the PSL to an April-May window. If the PSL does move to an April-May window, it could have a positive impact on the ILT20. In 2024, the PCB allowed Pakistan's top players to play in the ILT20, which White said "boosted" attendance at the three venues in the UAE.