NC Sports Desk scheduled to commence in January, while Shaheen Shah Afridi failed to make cut.

According to details, a total of 69 players were retained by six franchises for the International League T20 (ILT20) 2025, scheduled to commence in January. The window for retaining players was opened on 1 June with the teams given two weeks to submit the list of the retained players. Each franchise had the option of retaining a maximum of two United Arab Emirates (UAE) players. However, there was no limit on the retention of international players. Following the completion of the players’ retention window, the teams can now sign new players in the ongoing Player Acquisition Window which will stay open till 15 September. Notably, amongst the 69 players retained for ILT20 2025, 26 were part of various ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 squads including the likes of David Warner, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford and Wanindu Hasaranga.

However, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was an integral part of Desert Vipers, was not named in the retention list of the franchise while compatriots Azam Khan and Mohammad Amir retained their spots.  Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Aditya Shetty, Ali Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Andries Gous, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Laurie Evans, Micheal Pepper and Sunil Narine. Desert Vipers: Adam Hose, Alex Hales, Ali Naseer, Azam Khan, Bas de Leede, Luke Wood, Micheal Jones, Mohammad Amir, Nathan Sowter, Sherfane Rutherford, Tanish Suri and Wanindu  Hasaranga. Dubai Capitals: Dasun Shanaka, David Warner, Dushmantha Chameera, Haider Ali, Raja Akif, Rovman Powell, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, Zahir Khan, Jake Fraser McGurk and Oliver Stone. Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan, Blessing Muzarabani, Chris Jordan, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gerhard Erasmus, Jamie Overton, James Vince, Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Mohammad Zohaib Zubair, Rehan Ahmed, Richard Gleeson and Shimron Hetmyer. MI Emirates: Akeal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran, Nosthush Kenjige, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Waqar Salamkheil.