Why team India will be closely watching the ILT20 - and you should too

Almost 1.4 billion people will be watching the start of International League T20 (ILT20) 2025 with anxious eyeballs. Wondering why? 

After wrapping up the T20 World Cup 2024 win in Barbados, India would want to get their hands on the much-coveted ICC Champions Trophy 2025. So, how are these two statements connected? 

Over the next month, you will see the connection - why ILT20 could be India's blueprint and handy guide in pursuing another ICC title. There are 15 games in ILT20 this year that will be played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. 

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Does it ring a bell? India will play all their Champions Trophy games in Dubai, making the ILT20 even more important. So, what key factors will keenly interest the Indian side?

Toss

In 2021, the ICC T20 World Cup was hosted in the Middle East, and the toss played a crucial role, particularly in Dubai. Every team barring Afghanistan opted to bowl first, wanting to take advantage of the nature of the conditions. 

13 of the 14 teams that won the toss and opted to bowl first won their games at the venue, including Australia in the final. So, India would want to see if the toss plays an important role in the upcoming tournament. 

Nature of the surface and team composition

One of the biggest advantages India could have is knowing how the surfaces behave in Dubai ahead of the eight-team tournament. The ILT20 could be a trailer for what happens in the ICC tournament. Will the pacers get an advantage here, or will it be spin-dominant? 

The spinners ruled the roost in the 2021 T20 World Cup, with 55 wickets @ 22.2. But things could change this time, and we will likely get a sneak peek of that in ILT20 2025. Proceedings in ILT20 2025 could tell Team India whether they need to pick an extra all-rounder, pacer, or spinner to combat the surfaces in Dubai. 

Additionally, on double-header days in ILT20 2025, the first match will be played entirely in the afternoon. So, these afternoon games could give the team cues about how the surface behaves when the sun is beating down. Will there be turn and bite, or does the sun make no difference whatsoever? These kinds of things will only be known courtesy of ILT20 matches.

Dew Factor

Why did 92% of the captains opt to field first in T20 World Cup 2021?

Because of the dew factor, which has repeatedly been a heavy decision-maker for captains at the toss. 

In that sense, the ILT20 2025 could be the perfect trailer for the Indian team to assess the dew factor in the evening. Remember there are only 11 days between the ILT20 2025 final in Dubai (Feb 9) and India’s first game of the 2025 Champions Trophy (Feb 20), also in Dubai. So the conditions will more or less remain exactly the same.

The team could get a good sense of just how difficult or easy it would be to defend a target under lights.

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The ILT20 2025 will be played across three venues — Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi — but Dubai will host both the first match (Jan 11) and the final (Feb 9).

Defending champions MI Emirates will kick-start proceedings in the competition later today against a very strong Dubai Capitals unit. 

Click here for all squads and full schedule of ILT20 2025