MI Emirates: ILT20 Season 5 Squad & Team Overview

MI Emirates are the most dominant batting team in ILT20 history and the Season 2 (2024) champions. They are owned by Indiawin Sports, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, the same parent company behind Mumbai Indians in the IPL. This makes MI Emirates the most directly connected ILT20 franchise to an IPL parent club, with shared coaching philosophy, player networks, and the iconic blue and gold identity that Mumbai Indians carry across every format and league they participate in worldwide.

No franchise has produced more explosive batting performances in ILT20 history than MI Emirates. They hold the all-time record for the highest team total with 241 for 3 against Desert Vipers, which was also the biggest winning margin in the tournament at 157 runs. Their second highest total of 228 for 2 also came against Desert Vipers in Season 3. They are responsible for five of the twelve times the 200 run mark has been crossed in ILT20 history. The highest partnership in tournament history, 198 runs between Andre Fletcher and Tom Banton against Desert Vipers in Season 3, also belongs to MI Emirates.

Nicholas Pooran led the team across multiple seasons and holds the all time record for most sixes in ILT20 history with 71, averaging 45.90 across 1,010 runs. Muhammad Waseem is the leading UAE domestic run scorer in the tournament with 871 runs, leads all fielders with 20 catches, and is third in the all time sixes list with 55. For Season 4, Kieron Pollard was appointed captain after Pooran, with head coach Robin Singh guiding the squad. The Season 4 squad included Andre Fletcher, who set a record auction bid of USD 260,000, alongside Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Shakib Al Hasan, Jordan Thompson, Kamindu Mendis, and Romario Shepherd.

MI Emirates entered Season 4 as runners-up from Season 3 and as the only team to have won the ILT20 title before that campaign. They were defeated by Desert Vipers in the Season 4 final on 4 January 2026. Season 5 squad confirmations are pending. Head coach Robin Singh continues in his role and the franchise enters Season 5 with the strongest batting record in the tournament’s history and clear motivation to reclaim the title.