Best playing 11 of ILT20 2025 ft. Sam Curran, Shai Hope

ILT20 2025 is officially done and dusted. The final of the third edition of UAE's International League T20 took place on February 9, 2025, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Home team Dubai Capitals defeated the Desert Vipers in the final to become champions for the first time in the tournament's history.

Talking about the final match, the Desert Vipers posted 189/5 on the board in 20 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 33-ball 62* from captain Sam Curran. In reply, the Dubai Capitals slumped to 31/3 in the powerplay, but Rovman Powell's fantastic 38-ball 63 helped them reach 191/6 in 19.2 overs and win by four wickets.

ILT20 2025 was an exciting tournament. Now that the competition has ended, here's a glance at the best XI from the season.

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Openers - Shai Hope (wk) and Alex Hales

Dubai Capitals opener Shai Hope was the highest run-getter in ILT20 2025. The Caribbean wicketkeeper-batter stole the show by aggregating 527 runs in 12 innings, registering one century and three half-centuries. His average was 58.55, while he maintained a decent strike rate of 124.29.

Opening the batting with Hope will be Desert Vipers batter Alex Hales. The English opener amassed 405 runs in 13 innings, playing a big role in his team's journey to the final. His highest score in ILT20 2025 was 77*, while he smashed a total of 43 fours and 18 sixes in the Desert Vipers jersey.

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Middle Order - Tom Banton, Gulbadin Naib, Nicholas Pooran, Sam Curran (c) and Jason Holder

The middle-order features MI Emirates batter Tom Banton along with Dubai Capitals all-rounder Gulbadin Naib. Banton played only 11 games in ILT20 2025, but he still attained the second position on the batters' leaderboard, courtesy of his 493 runs at a strike rate of 151.69.

Naib played a pivotal role in DC's triumph. He not only scored 381 runs in 12 innings but also bagged 11 wickets for his team. Desert Vipers captain Sam Curran did a similar job for his side. The English all-rounder aggregated 387 runs in 12 innings and scalped seven wickets as well.

Providing firepower to this middle order will be MI Emirates' hard-hitting batter, Nicholas Pooran. The southpaw batted in 10 innings, where he scored 301 runs at a strike rate of 160.10. Notably, Pooran hit 25 fours and 17 sixes.

Pace-bowling all-rounder Jason Holder will provide balance to this lineup. Playing for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Holder took 17 wickets and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker. He also had a batting strike rate of 180 and an average of 25.20 in eight innings.

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Bowlers - Wanindu Hasaranga, Aayan Afzal Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Blessing Muzarabani

Desert Vipers leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will lead the spin department of this lineup. The Sri Lankan had the best economy rate among bowlers who bowled at least five overs in ILT20 2025. He played nine matches, scalping 12 wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 5.88 runs per over.

Joining him in the spin attack will be Gulf Giants' rising star Aayan Afzal Khan. The 19-year-old spinner from UAE took 10 wickets in as many matches at an impressive economy rate of 6.17.

The two specialist pacers of the best ILT20 2025 playing XI will be MI Emirates' Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulf Giants' Blessing Muzarabani. Farooqi was the most successful bowler in ILT20 2025, taking 21 wickets in 11 innings. Meanwhile, Muzarabani took 16 wickets in 10 innings at a strike rate of 14.50 for the Giants.