Dubai, 21 October 2026: Saudi Arabia won all five of their matches in Malaysia to finish as champions of the Sub-Regional Asia B Qualifier for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028, and move on to the Asia Regional Final. Their players who have appeared in the DP World ILT20 say the league played a part.
Two of the qualifier’s top five wicket-takers have ILT20 experience. Ishtiaq Ahmed took seven wickets and Zain Ul Abidin six.
Lessons from Bond and Munaf
Ishtiaq, who played for the Gulf Giants last season, was Player of the Match against Hong Kong for his 4 for 25. “Working with Shane Bond at the Gulf Giants changed the way I think about my bowling,” he said. “When you have bowled at world-class players in the nets at the DP World ILT20, you go into international matches with more belief.”
Zain Ul Abidin, who was with MI Emirates, spoke of sharing a dressing room with Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al Hasan. “We promised ourselves that we would bring those lessons back to Saudi Arabia and share them with the rest of the squad, and I believe that showed in Malaysia,” he said.
Usman Najeeb, who returns to the Dubai Capitals, credited former India fast bowler Munaf Patel. “Munaf Patel spent a lot of time with me on the basics of my bowling and my preparation, and bowling to players like Rovman Powell and Dasun Shanaka in the nets showed me where I needed to improve,” he said.
Six Saudi players in Season 5
Ishtiaq moves to the Desert Vipers for Season 5. Abdul Mannan Ali, Usman Najeeb and Zain Ul Abidin return to the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals and MI Emirates respectively. Imtiaz Khan joins the Gulf Giants and Mohammad Saqib the Sharjah Warriorz.
“I have seen how much my teammates have grown from their time in the league, and I want to make the most of the same opportunity,” Saqib said.
Season 5 dates
Season 5 runs from 21 November to 20 December. The Desert Vipers play MI Emirates in the opener in Dubai on 21 November at 6.30pm local time (8pm IST). The final is in Dubai on 20 December.
Names in this season’s squads include Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali at the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Babar Azam at the Desert Vipers, Faf du Plessis at the Dubai Capitals, Heinrich Klaasen at the Gulf Giants, Rashid Khan and Nicholas Pooran at MI Emirates, and Sikandar Raza at the Sharjah Warriorz.
The league’s Schools Cup is also under way in the UAE.
