Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Wednesday, 3 December 2025 02:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
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| Matheesha Pathirana returns to competitive cricket after missing the Pakistan tour |
The five competing sides have a spread of Sri Lanka T20I specialists notably defending champions Dubai Capitals who have signed Dasun Shanaka and Dushmantha Chameera, Gulf Giants who have the services of Pathum Nissanka and Nuwan Thushara, and Sharjah Warriorz for whom Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana will turn up for.
Desert Vipers have signed Wanindu Hasaranga and MI Emirates have latched onto Kamindu Mendis.
With Sri Lanka not having any international cricket till January, these players have the chance to improve their skills by playing in this tournament which allows each team the unique player policy of fielding luxury of nine overseas players in the playing eleven – a structure different from most other leagues which usually limit overseas players to four or five.
As a result it has allowed the tournament to attract a large number of international stars. Apart from Sri Lanka there are players from Pakistan – Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, and Zimbabwe – Sikandar Raza, Richard Ngarava all of whom took part in the T20I Tri-Series. From India there is Dinesh Karthik and Piyush Chawla and a host of other top quality T20I specialists from Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka’s poor quality batting at the top and middle orders has attracted only Pathum Nissanka and to a lesser extent Kamindu Mendis, otherwise the rest of the Lankan players picked are either bowling all-rounders or specialist bowlers. That even international T20 Leagues show little interest in signing up Sri Lankan batsmen is a clear sign of their inconsistent returns when they represent the national team.
Matches of the ILT20 are of great importance to the Lankan players to fine tune their T20I skills ahead of the T20 World Cup in February-March, following a disappointing campaign in the T20I Tri-Series in Pakistan.
Of particular interest will be the return of fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana to competitive cricket. He missed the Pakistan tour as he was recovering from an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Pathirana’s fitness and presence is central to Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup campaign and his performances in the ILT20 along with the other Sri Lankan players will be monitored closely by the national selectors.
The tournament got underway yesterday with defending champions Dubai Capitals playing losing finalist Desert Vipers. The tournament, sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board, will feature matches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
SRI LANKAN PLAYERS IN ILT20 2025/26
