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ILT20 Season 5 Teams: Strengths and Weaknesses
Last updated: 31 October 2026.
The ILT20 Season 5 teams question is not which poster looks louder. It is who bowls the first six and who bats if the opener nicks off. All six franchises return. None has won the league twice. The captain table is on the ILT20 teams hub, and the lists are on the squad pages.
| Team | Captain | Coach | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi Knight Riders | Jason Holder | Dwayne Bravo | None yet |
| Desert Vipers | Babar Azam | James Foster | 2025-26 |
| Dubai Capitals | Faf du Plessis | Hemang Badani | 2025 |
| Gulf Giants | Jos Buttler | Simon Helmot | 2023 |
| MI Emirates | Nicholas Pooran | Mark Boucher | 2024 |
| Sharjah Warriorz | James Vince | Adrian Birrell | None yet |
ILT20 Season 5 Teams and Their Squad Shape
Each note below uses the post-auction list and the published captain. It does not invent a batting order.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders list Jason Holder as captain and Dwayne Bravo as head coach. Titles: none yet. Holder captains, Bravo coaches, and the side still has no ILT20 title after four seasons. Recognised names include Jason Holder, Finn Allen, Kane Williamson, Sunil Narine, Moeen Ali, Andre Fletcher. The compiled squad has 20 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
Desert Vipers
Desert Vipers list Babar Azam as captain and James Foster as head coach. Titles: 2025-26. Defending champions, with Babar Azam taking the armband for his first ILT20 season. Recognised names include Babar Azam, Joe Clarke, Andries Gous, Shimron Hetmyer, Harry Tector, Dan Lawrence. The compiled squad has 22 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the Desert Vipers squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
Dubai Capitals
Dubai Capitals list Faf du Plessis as captain and Hemang Badani as head coach. Titles: 2025. The 2025 champions rebuilt around Faf du Plessis, Phil Salt and a returning Marcus Stoinis. Recognised names include Faf du Plessis, Phil Salt, Marcus Stoinis, Dasun Shanaka, Rovman Powell, Max Holden. The compiled squad has 22 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the Dubai Capitals squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
Gulf Giants
Gulf Giants list Jos Buttler as captain and Simon Helmot as head coach. Titles: 2023. The inaugural champions loaded the top order with Buttler, Klaasen, Miller and Livingstone. Recognised names include Jos Buttler, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Curtis Campher, Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The compiled squad has 23 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the Gulf Giants squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
MI Emirates
MI Emirates list Nicholas Pooran as captain and Mark Boucher as head coach. Titles: 2024. Runners-up in January, now coached by Mark Boucher and holders of the record auction bid. Recognised names include Nicholas Pooran, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Muhammad Waseem. The compiled squad has 22 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the MI Emirates squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
Sharjah Warriorz
Sharjah Warriorz list James Vince as captain and Adrian Birrell as head coach. Titles: none yet. Vince keeps the captaincy. The attack includes Adil Rashid and last season's leading bowler award winner, Waqar Salamkheil. Recognised names include James Vince, Tom Banton, Adam Milne, Logan van Beek, George Dockrell, Richard Gleeson. The compiled squad has 22 names. A thin spot is whatever the list does not prove: who is in the country for all ten games. That is to be announced. Read the Sharjah Warriorz squad before treating a cluster of famous names as an XI.
ILT20 Season 5 Teams Schedule Shape
Ten league games is the whole regular season. Grounds are shared, so a side named for Abu Dhabi still plays in Dubai and Sharjah. Home advantage is a soft idea. The fixture list is the authority. Double-headers fall on 22, 28 and 29 November and on 2, 6 and 13 December.
How the Six Sides Did in Previous ILT20 Seasons
- 2023: Gulf Giants beat Desert Vipers. Gulf Giants won by 7 wickets.
- 2024: MI Emirates beat Dubai Capitals. MI Emirates won by 45 runs.
- 2025: Dubai Capitals beat Desert Vipers. Dubai Capitals won by 4 wickets.
- 2025-26: Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates. Desert Vipers won by 46 runs.
Four seasons produced four champions. Knight Riders have not won a final. Warriorz have not reached one, on the placements repeated after Season 4. That ceiling is history, not a rule for December.
Can One of These Sides Win ILT20 Season 5? Our Verdict
The opinion here still starts with Desert Vipers, then MI Emirates, then Gulf Giants. It is a sketch. If a captain misses half the window, the sketch moves.
Take Abu Dhabi Knight Riders as the worked example of how to read the rest. Holder captains, Bravo coaches, and the side still has no ILT20 title after four seasons. Jason Holder captains and Dwayne Bravo coaches. The compiled list has 20 names. The ten games still move between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. A badge is not a home ground. The same reading applies to the other five: captain, coach, cited fees, and a blank next to availability. That blank is the weakness every preview shares until the first XI is published. Desert Vipers are defending champions. MI Emirates reached the last final and then paid the record fee. Gulf Giants loaded the top order. Capitals changed captains. Warriorz still have the career run leader and no final on this record. None of those sentences is a points column. The table starts at zero for all six. Read each club's own preview before you treat a cluster of famous names as an XI.
The ILT20 Season 5 teams page is only as good as the lists it cites. Farooqi's reported USD 380,000 fee, Babar's first ILT20 season, and four different champions are the facts. The rest of the table is still zeros. Checked 30 October 2026.
ILT20 Season 5 Teams FAQs
Which ILT20 Season 5 team is defending champion?
Desert Vipers. They beat MI Emirates by 46 runs on 4 January 2026. Babar Azam is the new captain. James Foster is the listed head coach. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Has any ILT20 team won two titles?
No. Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers have one each. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Sharjah Warriorz have not won a final. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Who captains the ILT20 Season 5 teams?
Holder, Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis, Jos Buttler, Nicholas Pooran and James Vince, in franchise order from Abu Dhabi through Sharjah. Coaches are on the same table. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
Where are ILT20 Season 5 team strengths still thin?
Availability. An October squad list does not prove a player is in the country for all ten games. Injuries are to be announced, not guessed. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.
How many games do ILT20 Season 5 teams play?
Ten league games each, then a playoff only if they finish in the top four. The league is a double round-robin. Anything we could not confirm by 30 October 2026 is marked to be announced.