The DP World ILT20 launched in spectacular fashion at the Dubai International Stadium today. The star-studded trio of Bollywood superstars Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, and Sonam Bajwa headlined a blockbuster opening ceremony as fans packed the iconic ‘Ring of Fire’ for the double-entertainment offer – opening ceremony and the tournament opener – for the region’s premier T20 tournament.

The festivities culminated in a stunning fireworks display signaling the start of the season. Bollywood actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani and popular host Ridhima Pathak kept the crowd engaged as emcees for the evening.

Following the opening ceremony, anticipation soared for the season opener that will see Dubai Capitals host defending champions, MI Emirates in a thrilling rematch of last year’s final. The opening ball of the season was bowled at 7:30pm local time with MI Emirates winning the toss and choosing to bowl first.

Audiences from around the world can catch the action live on the Zee Network and its syndication partners through both linear and digital platforms.

Zee Network’s most widely distributed and viewed 15 linear TV channels include: &Pictures SD, &Pictures HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema 2, Zee Action, Zee Biskope, Zee Zest SD, Zee Cinemalu HD, Zee Telugu HD, Zee Thirai, Zee Tamil HD, Zee Kannada HD, Zee Zest HD, &Flix SD and &Flix HD. The DP World ILT20 is also free to view on one of India’s leading OTT platforms – ZEE5.

Furthermore, fans can take advantage of an incredible offer for matchdays from Sunday, 12 January onwards—four tickets for just AED 40, available exclusively in the general category, and a final and limited release of tickets for fans, with 25% off on all Pavilion and Platinum tickets.

The month-long cricket fest will see some of the world’s finest cricketers in action, including Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates), Sikandar Raza (Dubai Capitals), Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Lockie Ferguson (Desert Vipers), James Vince (Gulf Giants), Tim Southee (Sharjah Warriorz), David Warner (Dubai Capitals), Jason Holder (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Shimron Hetmyer (Gulf Giants), Phil Salt (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sharjah Warriorz), Sam Curran (Desert Vipers), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Dubai Capitals), Tim David (Gulf Giants), Fazalhaq Farooqi (MI Emirates), Adil Rashid (Sharjah Warriorz), Fakhar Zaman (Desert Vipers), Roston Chase (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Matthew Wade (Sharjah Warriorz), Ibrahim Zadran (Gulf Giants), Alex Hales (Desert Vipers), Sherfane Rutherford (Desert Vipers), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), and Chris Jordan (Gulf Giants).