The fourth edition of UAE's International League T20 (ILT20) begins this week. Here's all you need to know about the tournament.
When does it start?
The finalists from last season - Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers - meet in Dubai to kick off proceedings on December 2. Most of the fixtures begin at 6.30pm local time, with the afternoon fixtures - on double-header days - starting from 2pm.
The last time these two teams met, Capitals chased down a target of 190 thanks to a 38-ball 63 from Rovman Powell, and a bruising 34 off 12 from Sikandar Raza, in a thrilling last-over finish.
Is there a clash with BBL and SA20 this time too?
To avoid a major clash with these two tournaments, in fact, the ILT20 has decided to start this season earlier than the January window in which it has been previously played: the matches are being played between December 2 and January 4. This gives players more leeway to appear for the entire duration of the competition, before the new year brings around a hectic franchise calendar with it.
Australia's Big Bash League is starting on December 14, and a few players might leave the tournament midway through to fulfill their commitments down under. The SA20 starts on December 26 which means former MI Emirates captain Nicholas Pooran might head out, among others, to appear for the MI franchise on another continent.
The tournament runs on for a total of 34 matches - 30 league games, followed by the knockouts. The teams that finish first and second will meet in Qualifier 1, in Abu Dhabi on December 30 - the winner of this encounter proceeds to the final. Then, the third- and fourth-placed teams from the group stage face off in the Eliminator, on January 1 in Dubai.
The Eliminator's winner then takes on the loser from the opening knockout match in Qualifier 2, on January 2 in Sharjah. The final will be played two days later.
How are the teams shaping up this year?
The same six teams as the previous season form the line-up for this edition: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriorz.
The tournament has had healthy competition so far: Gulf Giants won the inaugural title, MIE dominated during their second season run, and Capitals joined them as a third new winner during the competition's first three years.
And their captains?
There's been quite a shuffle this year, in fact: Kieron Pollard takes over from Pooran as MIE captain. Dasun Shanaka takes over from Sam Billings to lead defending champions Capitals, while Jason Holder takes over from Sunil Narine as the captain of Knight Riders.
On the other hand, Lockie Ferguson continues as captain for Desert Vipers - he is on a comeback trail after an injury layoff, and his performances here will be crucial to his roadmap to playing for New Zealand in next year's T20 World Cup. James Vince stays on as Gulf Giants' captain too, while Tim Southee will continue leading Warriorz.
Who are the other players to watch out for?
ILT20 had its first player auction in October, and the squads are stacked with exciting talent. West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Andre Fletcher fetched a record bid of USD 260,000 from MIE, who retained him for a fourth successive season of explosive batting at the top of the order.
Emirates opted to retain Muhammad Waseem too - he is a compulsive six-hitter from UAE, having hit 187 T20I sixes, trailing only Rohit Sharma (205).
Pakistan-born UAE pacer, Junaid Siddique, was also part of a bidding war at the auction - Warriorz eventually snatched up a bowler who has been in great form, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker at this year's Asia Cup.
Matheesha Pathirana was released by CSK last month, but this has freed him up to slot in as a replacement player for Warriorz. England batter Jordan Cox - who scored 367 runs at an average of 61.16, and an explosive strike-rate of 173.93 at The Hundred - will fly in to play for Capitals.
Moeen Ali - will be turning out for Giants alongside Vince, while Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who recently retired from the IPL, will continue to lend their services to Knight Riders in the ILT20.
Wait... checks notes...R Ashwin isn't playing?
Nope, your notes are quite correct. He went unsold, as the only player with a base price in six figures at the auction. However, that doesn't mean there is a dearth of Indian action at the tournament: Dinesh Karthik is the biggest name on this roster, heading to Sharjah Warriorz as their keeper-batter.
Former Under-19 captain, and current USA player, Unmukt Chand will be turning out for Knight Riders. Piyush Chawla, meanwhile, was announced as a wildcard for Knight Riders.
Anything else to keep in mind?
Yes - Vipers bid for Pakistan players Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, and Hasan Nawaz, but their availability for the tournament was in jeopardy after PCB declared that they would not be granting NOCs to their players for tournaments outside Pakistan. However, it is understood that PCB has granted the certificates to these three players, and they will now appear at the tournament.
The ILT20 has started to expand its footprint in the Gulf and has cobbled tie-ups with the cricket associations in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Six young players each from each country were bought by the six ILT20 franchises as development players at the auction recently.