Squads finalised as ILT20 development tournament returns for fourth edition

Dubai [UAE], September 3 (ANI): The squads for the fourth edition of the International League T20 Development Tournament have been confirmed following the Player Draft held on 2 September, with six teams set to represent the franchises of the ILT20. 
The tournament will begin on September 14 and bring together some of the UAE’s most promising cricketers in a competition designed to provide them with valuable exposure and experience, according to a press release. 
Several players selected in the six squads have already featured in the DP World ILT20 and made an impact, while others will also have an opportunity to make an impression ahead of the ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction scheduled to take place on 1 October 2026 in Dubai.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development is built around a strong contingent, with Alishan Sharafu anchoring the batting. Wicketkeeper-batter Mayank Choudhary and pace bowler Ibrar Ahmad, who both featured for the franchise in ILT20 Season 4, will add further strength to the squad.
Desert Vipers Development will feature Sanjay Pahal, who was named Player of the Tournament last year after scoring 157 runs and taking 12 wickets, a performance that secured him a place in the Desert Vipers squad for ILT20 Season 4. The squad will also include UAE internationals Khuzaima Tanveer and Matiullah Khan, along with the experienced wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind.
Dubai Capitals Development will boast a formidable bowling attack with Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah, both of whom featured for the Capitals in ILT20 Season 4.
The squad will also feature Akshdeep Nath, who made his UAE debut earlier this year. Raees Ahmed, meanwhile, returns after finishing as the third-highest run-scorer in the previous edition of the ILT20 Development Tournament (227 runs for Sharjah Warriors Development).
Gulf Giants Development have retained Haider Razzaq, who was the leading wicket-taker in last year’s edition with 16 wickets in seven matches. Adding further firepower will be Aayan Afzal Khan, who has represented the franchise in the ILT20 since its inception, scalping 24 wickets in 35 matches. 
The Giants have also secured the services of Sagar Kalyan and Tanish Suri, who were among the Development Tournament’s top run-scorers last year, scoring 230 and 220 runs respectively. Sohaib Khan, the UAE international and middle-order batter, will also add further depth to the squad.
MI Emirates Development have built their squad around the seasoned Muhammad Waseem, who has made 46 appearances for the franchise and is the third-highest run-scorer in ILT20 history with 1,241 runs. The squad will feature a strong contingent of DP World ILT20 players, including Muhammad Rohid, Ali Naseer, Aryan Lakra and Zahoor Khan.
Sharjah Warriorz Development features UAE international Junaid Siddique, the national side’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is (126 wickets). He’s joined by left-handed batter Ethan D’Souza, an established UAE international who has represented the Warriorz in the ILT20 itself, and Dhruv Parashar, who has previously featured for the Desert Vipers before returning to the development pathway. UAE ODI captain Harpreet Singh Bhatia rounds out the squad, adding significant international experience to the group.
The fourth edition of the ILT20 Development Tournament will commence on 14 September, with the six teams competing in a single-league, round-robin format. Sharjah Warriorz Development head into the new campaign with the title to defend, having beaten Desert Vipers Development in last year’s final.
ILT20 Development Tournament Squads 2026
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development: Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz, Aftab Alam, Falaknoor Noor, Uzair Khan, Awais Ali Shah, Nawodya Wijayakumara, Zia Mukhtar, Usaid Amin, Junaid Khan Afridi, Asel Sigera, Zahid Ali, Ammar Badami, Salman Saleem, Uzair Haider, Ibrar Ahmad, Mayank Choudhary, Alishan Sharafu
Desert Vipers Development: Ayaan Misbah, Nilansh Keswani, Israr Ahmad, Hilal Afghan, Wasim Akram, Harshit Kaushik, Wali Muhammad, Abdul Ghaffar, Taimoor Ali, Punya Bhatia, Zeeshan Abid, Angad Nehru, Harsh Desai, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Matiullah Khan, Sanjay Pahal, Vriitya Aravind
Dubai Capitals Development: Akshdeep Nath, Tahir Zaman, Khalid Shah, Zeeshan Naseer, Muhammad Arfan, Saghir Khan, Yayin Rai, Ahmed Tariq, Raees Ahmed, Mohomad Halan, Rahul Chopra, Asif Mohammad Taniwal, Abdul Rahman Nasir, Farhan Khan, Haider Ali, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah
Gulf Giants Development: Sohaib Khan, Adeeb Usmani, Awais Ahmed, Sagar Kalyan, Junaid Shamsudheen, Ansh Tandon, Keshav Sharma, Nabeel Aziz, Muhammad Irshad, Samal Udawaththa, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Vaibhav Govekar, Tanish Suri, Albin Alias, Aayan Khan, Haider Razzaq, Zuhaib Zubair
MI Emirates Development: Kona Srikar Bharat, Ali Naseer, Ibrahim Masood, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Aryan Lakra, Nasir Faraz, Said Nazeer, Wahab Hassan, Muhammad Sameer, Zenul Abideen, Raizal Nadir, Naseem Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Rohid, Usman Khan, Zahoor Khan
Sharjah Warriorz Development: Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Dilan Suraweera, Daniyal Liaquat, Dhruv Parashar, Luqman Faisal, Mohit Kalyan, Uddish Suri, Basil Hameed, Omid Rahman, Hafiz Almas Ayub, Shahid Iqbal, Aftab Javed, Rayan Khan, Ronak Panoly, Anas Malik, Junaid Siddique, Ethan D Souza. (ANI)