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ILT20 Fantasy Tips: Captain, Vice-Captain and Best Picks
Last updated: 31 October 2026.
ILT20 fantasy tips on this page sort roles before names. The tournament has not started, so a captain pick is a role, not a lock. There is no betting link. The schedule shows which dates carry two games.
ILT20 Fantasy Tips: Top Picks at a Glance
| Role | Name | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Powerplay bowling | Fazalhaq Farooqi | Record fee and the historical wicket lead |
| Legspin | Rashid Khan | MI Emirates middle overs |
| Top order | Jos Buttler | Giants captain and wicketkeeper |
| New to the league | Babar Azam | Vipers captain, first ILT20 season |
| All-rounder | Liam Livingstone | Reported USD 350,000 to the Giants |
Best Captain and Vice-Captain Options
Captain options
Jos Buttler, Nicholas Pooran and Babar Azam are the three captain conversations, because they bat in the top order and two of them keep wicket. Buttler and Pooran have already played this league. Babar has not. That difference is the risk, not a reason to pretend a score.
Vice-captain options
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan are the bowling versions. A vice-captain who only bowls is quiet if the game is a batter's night. Liam Livingstone is the other shape: he has to bat and bowl before the second skill pays. Check the XI on the day.
Best Batters, Bowlers and All-Rounders to Pick
Batters
Vince already owns the career run mark. Klaasen, Miller, Salt and Fakhar are the other top-order names with a clear role on a list. Do not stack five openers from one game.
Bowlers
Farooqi, Naseem Shah, the two Josephs, Mustafizur Rahman, Gleeson and Adil Rashid cover new ball and spin. They only score if they play. Availability is to be announced.
All-rounders
Livingstone, Holder, Stoinis, Nabi, Omarzai and Shanaka pay twice only if the franchise uses both skills. A specialist batting role wastes the reason you picked them.
Budget Picks and Differential Players
The Pakistan cluster at Desert Vipers was reported at USD 80,000 each: Babar, Fakhar, Naseem and Shadab. In fantasy, price on the auction sheet is not the same as salary-cap price, and this site will not invent a fantasy salary. The differential is simply a name casual teams skip. Shadab and Nabi fit that description more often than Buttler does.
Players to Avoid This Round
Avoid anyone whose role on this site is still 'to be announced' if your rules punish a zero. Avoid treating Sam Curran as a Viper. He is not on the Season 5 Vipers list. Avoid a number seven who needs a collapse before they bat, until you have seen an XI.
Suggested Fantasy XI
A suggested group, not a team sheet: Buttler, Babar, Pooran, Vince, Livingstone, Holder, Rashid, Farooqi, Naseem Shah, Adil Rashid, and one of Alzarri Joseph or Shamar Joseph. Captain Buttler. Vice-captain Farooqi. Swap on the morning of the game if a name is absent.
How the double-headers change a slate
Sunday 22 November 2026: Match 2 is Sharjah Warriorz vs Gulf Giants in Sharjah at 2:00 pm GST. Match 3 is Dubai Capitals vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
Saturday 28 November 2026: Match 9 is MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers in Abu Dhabi at 2:00 pm GST. Match 10 is Gulf Giants vs Dubai Capitals in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
Sunday 29 November 2026: Match 11 is Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Sharjah Warriorz in Abu Dhabi at 2:00 pm GST. Match 12 is Desert Vipers vs Gulf Giants in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
Wednesday 2 December 2026: Match 15 is Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers in Abu Dhabi at 2:00 pm GST. Match 16 is Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
Sunday 6 December 2026: Match 20 is MI Emirates vs Sharjah Warriorz in Abu Dhabi at 2:00 pm GST. Match 21 is Desert Vipers vs Dubai Capitals in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
Sunday 13 December 2026: Match 28 is MI Emirates vs Dubai Capitals in Abu Dhabi at 2:00 pm GST. Match 29 is Gulf Giants vs Desert Vipers in Dubai at 6:30 pm GST.
A crowded date is not automatically a high-scoring date. It is two games, sometimes in two cities, and a fantasy XI can only field players who were named that morning. If both games are night games in different emirates, you are not watching them as one crowd. You are picking from two squad sheets. Cap the entry fee before 21 November if the game you play charges one. This page still will not link a bookmaker.
Why the vice-captain is a bowling question
Farooqi's reported USD 380,000 fee and his 50 historical wickets make him the obvious bowling name. Rashid Khan is the other, because middle overs in a ten-game league swing a net run rate as well as a fantasy score. A vice-captain who does not bat will post a zero with the bat. That is fine if your rules pay the overs. It is a bad habit if they do not. Livingstone, at a reported USD 350,000 to the Giants, only pays twice if he bats and bowls. Holder is the same shape for the Knight Riders. Check the XI.
Nicholas Pooran is listed as a wicketkeeper from West Indies (Left-hand bat). No auction price is listed for this player because we could not verify one in the reports we checked. He captains MI Emirates and keeps wicket, so the role is not a middle-order cameo.
James Vince is listed as a batter from England (Right-hand bat). No auction price is listed for this player because we could not verify one in the reports we checked. He leads the career run list with 1,156 and captains Sharjah Warriorz. That is a volume case, not a Season 5 total.
Those are the ILT20 fantasy tips for a season that has not started. Double-headers on six dates will crowd a slate. Cap any entry fee before the opener. Official fantasy, if the league runs it, lives on the league's own channels. This page will not link a bookmaker. Checked 30 October 2026.
ILT20 Fantasy Tips FAQs
Do these ILT20 fantasy tips guarantee a team?
No. They sort roles before the tournament starts. A captain mark is an opinion about workload, not a promise of points. Check the playing XI on the day. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Is this a betting tip?
No. There are no odds and no bookmaker links. If you play a paid fantasy game, decide your cap before 21 November and do not chase a bad week. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Who is a safe captain for ILT20 Season 5?
There is no safe captain before the season. Buttler, Pooran and Babar are the names whose roles justify the conversation. Availability is still to be announced. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Which dates have two ILT20 games?
22, 28 and 29 November, plus 2, 6 and 13 December. Those are the crowded fantasy slates on the fixture list. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Should I pick Sam Curran for the Vipers?
No. He is not on the published Season 5 Desert Vipers squad. Babar Azam is the listed captain. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced. We will update this answer, with a date, when a public source confirms more.