The upcoming second season of the ILT20, a six-team cricket tournament set to commence on January 19 in the UAE, brings an interesting twist with the introduction of wildcard players. Teams, despite having already finalized their squads, now have the option to sign two additional players as wildcards, a move permissible from the second season onwards.
According to the ILT20 rules, franchises are allotted a purse of US$2.5 million to build a squad of 22 players. The wildcard signings, not mandatory, offer teams the flexibility to enhance their squads further. Each franchise can allocate a maximum of US$250,000 for these direct signings. Notably, the wildcard option is open for utilization at any point before or during the season.
In case a franchise has exhausted its purse, the ILT20 allows them to spend a maximum of 10% of the purse to secure wildcard players. Teams with a remaining balance in their purse can utilize it for wildcard signings as long as the expenditure stays within the specified limit.
ILT20 conveyed the information to franchises
As of now, no official wildcard signings have taken place, but the ILT20 has conveyed the updated information to the franchises this week. It is worth noting that a wildcard player cannot be replaced with a fresh wildcard signing once included in the squad.
The ILT20 becomes the third franchise league, following the Hundred and SA20, to incorporate the wildcard player system. Last year, SA20 introduced a similar option with a minimum salary requirement, which did not count against the purse.
The wildcard is not the only new addition to the ILT20 rules. Another intriguing change involves the introduction of a Super-sub. Similar to the Impact player concept in the IPL, teams can bring in a Super-sub during a match. This move, though not mandatory, can be executed at any point after the first over of the match or even at the beginning of the second innings. The ILT20 has specified that a minimum of two UAE players must be part of the playing XI at all times when implementing the Super-sub rule.
