ILT20 2025 to begin on January 11, set to clash with BBL and SA20

The third edition of the ILT20 is set to be on a collision course with the BBL and potentially the SA20 in 2025. As per the fixtures of the ILT20, a six-team franchise-based competition in the UAE, announced on Friday, the tournament is set to run from January 11 to February 9 in 2025.

While the dates for both BBL and SA20 haven't been announced, ESPNcricinfo understands the former is set to run until January 26 while the latter will start soon after the New Year's Test against Pakistan ends in Cape Town on January 7. Another potential overlap could be South Africa travelling to Pakistan for an ODI series as preparation for the 2025 Champions Trophy, pencilled in for mid-February, also in Pakistan.

Adding to the complexities of the ILT20 is also a possible clash with the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), although the ILT20 has been a far more lucrative proposition for top players. These clashes with other leagues have meant a high turnover in players throughout the ILT20, with teams making signings for exclusive windows, even as players jet in and jet out from one competition to another.

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 at least able to play most of the regular season before leaving for the UAE. That will not be the case next summer for those who are contracted to the ILT20.

The BBL was hoping to offset any potential clashes with overseas leagues by having Australia's home-grown Test stars available to play after the Sydney Test against India finishes on January 7. But Australia has a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka scheduled for late January to early February and it understood that the Test players might only be available for three BBL games, if at all, depending on who needs a rest after five Tests against India in seven weeks.

Speaking to ESPNcricnfo recently, David White, the CEO of ILT20, had admitted the January-Feburary 2025 was a crowded window with the "added complications" 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 ICC's FTP which comprised bilateral engagements.

Eventually the ILT20, which received List A status from ICC prior to the 2024 season, has decided to stick to the same window the tournament has been played over the last two years.

"Having considered all aspects, the January-February window for Season 3 has turned out to be the most suitable," White said in a media release on Friday.

Last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a radical move to push PSL to an April-May window, in an effort to avoid an increasingly crowded December-February window including hosting the eight-team Champions Trophy. In case the PSL does move to April-May window, it could have a positive impact on ILT20. In 2024 the PCB had allowed top Pakistan players to feature in the ILT20, which White said "spiked' crowd attendances at the three venues in the UAE.