Gulf Giants — Squad, Results & ILT20 Season 5

Team information

Captain

Jos Buttler

Coach

Simon Helmot

Home ground

Dubai International Stadium, Dubai (6 of 10 league matches)

Titles

ILT20 2023

Season so far

Gulf Giants are the inaugural ILT20 champions, winners of the first season in 2023, and they have not lifted the trophy since. Season 5 is their fourth attempt at a second title, and the squad has been built the way the first title was won: with batting depth that does not stop.

Jos Buttler captains the side. Behind him sit Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Liam Livingstone — four batters who can each win a T20 match on their own — plus Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran at the top. Simon Helmot coaches a squad that has no obvious weak link with the bat.

The base is Dubai, where six of the ten league matches are played. The season starts away from home, though: the first match is against Sharjah Warriorz in Sharjah on 22 November, in the afternoon, and the Giants do not play in Dubai until 24 November against MI Emirates.

ILT20 Schedule · ILT20 Points Table · ILT20 Results · ILT20

History

Won the first ILT20 in 2023.

What to watch

The strength is obvious: this is the best top order in the ILT20. Buttler, Klaasen, Miller and Livingstone in one team is a luxury no other side has, and if the pitches in Dubai play true, the Giants will post — and chase — totals the rest of the league cannot match.

The question is whether the batting covers for the bowling. Beyond the Joseph brothers and Shamsi, the attack is workmanlike rather than feared, and Azmatullah Omarzai and David Wiese have to do heavy all-round work. If the top order has an off day, the bowlers have to win a low-scoring game — and that is not this squad’s comfort zone.

Watch the Sharjah games. The Giants play in Sharjah twice early — the opener against the Warriorz and the return on 1 December — and Sharjah’s small ground rewards exactly the kind of power hitting this squad is built for. Two wins there and the season starts with a statement.

Gulf Giants squad

Twenty-three players are verified for Season 5 in the ILT20 squads file — the largest squad in the league. The batting is stacked, and the bowling is led by Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph with the new ball and Tabraiz Shamsi and Blessing Muzarabani through the middle.

The list shows the 23 players verified for Season 5 in the ILT20 squads file (checked 30 October 2026). Roles shown are the player’s usual role; a dash means the role is not confirmed for this squad. Captain: Jos Buttler. Head coach: Simon Helmot. Base: Dubai.

Trophies and milestones

• 2023ILT20 champions

Points table

There is no points table yet — the season starts on 21 November. The format is simple: six teams, each plays ten league matches, a win is worth 2 points, and the top four reach the playoffs. In a six-team league, five or six wins usually books a playoff place; four wins leaves a side depending on net run rate and other results. The Giants’ run-in is kind: their last two league matches are both in Dubai, against Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers.

The full standings, once play starts, are on the ILT20 Points Table page, and every result is on the ILT20 Results page. SialTV will update this page after every match day, through the final.