The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly confirmed that the upcoming International League T20 (ILT20) which is slated to be played in the UAE will not be granted List A T20 status as UAE is not a Full Member.
The inaugural ILT20 will commence on 13 January. The league has received multi-year ICC approval and it will be played in a 34-match format across the UAE.
According to ICC’s regulations, any T20 tournament organized or hosted by Associate Member nations cannot attain List A T20 status and the cricket governing body made it clear that no exception will be made for ILT20, which will feature numerous high-profile cricketers.
This will also mean no records of any players will be added to their official domestic T20 stats.
“The UAE ILT20 has been sanctioned by the ICC but List A T20 status will not be granted to this event as it does not meet the criteria in the regulations,” an ICC spokesperson told The Cricketer.
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This means if a batter scores a century or hits six sixes in an over or if a bowler takes a five-wicket haul or more or takes a hat-trick, the record will not be added to their official domestic T20 stats, instead they will go under the ‘miscellaneous’ or ‘other T20’ columns of statisticians’ databases.
“T20 competitions hosted by non-Full Members cannot be attributed List A T20 status, and the global governing body recently confirmed to statisticians that no special exemption will be made for the big-money tournament in the UAE, which is set to have its inaugural run later this month,” the report added.
The tournament, comprising 84 International and 24 UAE-based players, has six franchises – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Sharjah Warriors. The ILT20 will permit up to nine overseas players per side.
Some big names playing in the tournament will be Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Alex Hales, and Wanindu Hasaranga.
