The 2026 EUT20 Belgium was the inaugural season of the EUT20 Belgium, a professional men's Twenty20 cricket league in Belgium. The tournament featured five franchise teams representing Belgian cities. The competition was played from 6 to 14 June 2026 in a single round-robin format, followed by the Playoff league and the final.
The final was held on 14 June 2026, when the Ghent Gladiators defeated the Antwerp Anchors by 3 wickets to win the inaugural title. Ali Khan of the Ghent Gladiators was awarded the man of the match award for his match-winning performance, while JJ Smit of the Antwerp Anchors was named player of the tournament.
Background The league was established in late 2025 to professionalise cricket in Europe, with former England captain Eoin Morgan serving as the global brand ambassador. All matches were played at the Stars Arena in Zemst, near Brussels. Zemst is a municipality located in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium.
Format The 2026 EUT20 Belgium season followed a franchise T20 format featuring five teams.
The league stage was played in a single round-robin format, with each team playing the others once for a total of 10 matches. Following this stage, the fourth and fifth-placed teams contested a qualifying match, with the winner securing the final spot in the playoff league.
The top four teams then advanced to the Playoff league, which was played in a single round-robin format with six matches, and the top two teams qualified for the final to decide the champion.
Draft and personnel signings Draft The player draft for the 2026 season took place on 24 March 2026.
Teams acquired players through a centralized player draft. Each squad, consisting of 16 to 18 members, had to follow strict roster requirements: Domestic: 4 Belgian players (minimum 2 in the starting XI; compulsory for every squad). Associate: 4 players from ICC Associate nations. International: 4 active Full Member international players. Veterans: 6 Full Member players who had not played international cricket in the last two years.
Personnel signings Each franchise had a salary budget of approximately £183,000 ($250,000), with individual player contracts ranging from £1,500 to £22,000 ($2,000–$30,000).
Ahead of the draft, several high-profile international stars were confirmed as pre-signings.
West Indies all-rounder Sheldon Cottrell, Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, South African batter Rilee Rossouw, and English internationals Jason Roy and Alex Hales were announced as pre-signings for Akcel United Brussels.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, New Zealand international Martin Guptill, and South African players Hardus Viljoen, Delano Potgieter, and Wihan Lubbe were pre-signed by the Antwerp Anchors.
South African internationals Temba Bavuma, Dwaine Pretorius, and all-rounder Duan Jansen along with English international James Vince, and Australian batter Josh Brown were pre-signed by the Ghent Gladiators for the inaugural season of the tournament.
South African internationals Rassie van der Dussen, and Wayne Parnell, New Zealand international Colin Munro, Nepalese all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee, and Indian all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary were announced as pre-signings for JB Bruges.
United States all-rounder Corey Anderson, Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik, Australian batsman Chris Lynn, Nepali leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, and South African batter Faf du Plessis were pre-signed by the Liège Red Lions ahead of the inaugural season.
Teams The following five franchises were confirmed for the inaugural season. Team Captain Head coach Akcel United Brussels Rilee Rossouw Mark Boucher Antwerp Anchors Martin Guptill Donovan Miller Ghent Gladiators Temba Bavuma Jonathan Trott JB Bruges Wayne Parnell Shivnarine Chanderpaul Liège Red Lions Faf du Plessis Herschelle Gibbs
Squads The following squads were confirmed for the inaugural season of the EUT20 Belgium.
Rilee Rossouw (c) Abdul Hai Muhammad Khalid Ahmadi Sefat Shagharai Sultan Diwan Ali (wk) Faridoon Dawoodzai Tom Rogers Shakib Al Hasan Yuvraj Samra Alex Hales Jason Roy Ravi Bopara Dawood Ahmadzai Thomas Draca Bas de Leede Dale Phillips Danru Ferns Gideon Peters Jack Jarvis Andries Gous (wk) Hassan Khan Sheldon Cottrell Martin Guptill (c) Abdul Jabar Jabarkhail Burhan Niaz Saidhakim Khaskar Sher Ali Peter Hatzoglou Lucky Ali Moeen Ali Tom Moores (wk) David Wiese JJ Smit Ruben Trumpelmann Aasif Sheikh (wk) Lokesh Bam (wk) Max Chu (wk) Delano Potgieter Hardus Viljoen Tristan Luus Wihan Lubbe Mark Watt Advait Dhabe Saad Nawaz Aayan Afzal Khan Andre Russell Temba Bavuma (c) Antum Naqvi Hadisullah Tarakhel Iftikhar Kankhel Sherul Mehta (wk) Waqar Salamkheil Josh Brown Sam Harper (wk) James Vince Ajay Kumar Ali Hasan Ben Manenti Crishan Kalugamage JJ Smuts Bernard Scholtz Rohit Paudel Duan Jansen Dwaine Pretorius Matthew Cross (wk) Richie Berrington Khuzaima Tanveer Ali Khan Wayne Parnell (c) Muneeb Muhammad Nishchal Shrestha Saber Zakhil Shafiullah Zakhel Shaheryar Butt Jack Wildermuth Nikhil Chaudhary Adam Rossington (wk) Ari Karvelas Anil Sah (wk) Dipendra Singh Airee Gulshan Jha Ishan Pandey Lalit Rajbanshi Colin Munro Evan Jones Rassie van der Dussen Thomas Kaber Lahiru Milantha (wk) Junaid Siddique Faf du Plessis (c) Ali Raza (wk) Ashiqullah Said Murid Ekrami Omid Malik Khel (wk) Omid Rahimi Ben Dunk (wk) Chris Lynn Hayden Kerr Kaleem Sana Freddie Heldreich Sandeep Lamichhane Shoaib Malik Gomolemo Phiri Jasper Davidson Ramesh Mendis Corey Anderson Harmeet Singh Shadley van Schalkwyk Obed McCoy Shaaron Lewis
Crishan Kalugamage and Matthew Cross, who were acquired by the Ghent Gladiators during the draft, were later removed from the squad in the team's new announcement on 10 May 2026, and were replaced by Ali Hasan and Ali Khan on 20 May and 21 May 2026, respectively. The franchise also announced the signings of Bernard Scholtz and JJ Smuts on 6 June 2026, as supplementary additions to the squad.
Lokesh Bam was signed by the Antwerp Anchors as a replacement for Saad Nawaz. On 1 June 2026, the franchise announced that Aasif Sheikh would be unavailable due to national team commitments at the Asian Games – Men's Qualifier. Later that day, the team also announced the signings of Tom Moores, JJ Smit, and Peter Hatzoglou as supplementary additions to the squad, even after the conclusion of the player draft. On 6 June 2026, Moeen Ali was also added to the team.
Akcel United Brussels announced the signings of Danru Ferns, Jack Jarvis, Thomas Draca, Dale Phillips, and Thomas Rogers as supplementary additions to the squad even after the conclusion of the player draft.
Liège Red Lions announced the signings of Hayden Kerr, Shaaron Lewis and Murid Ekrami as supplementary additions to the squad even after the conclusion of the player draft.
Despite not being officially announced in the initial squad, Jack Wildermuth was seen playing for JB Bruges in their match against the Ghent Gladiators.
Venue Venue in Belgium Hofstade, Zemst Stars Arena Capacity: 600
Match officials Umpires Billy Bowden Anil Chaudhary Ruchira Palliyaguruge Chris Brown Paul Wilson
Match Referees Simon Taufel
League stage Points table
Match summary
Fixtures
The EUT20 Belgium announced the fixtures on 8 April 2026.
Playoff league Points table
Match summary
Fixtures
The EUT20 Belgium announced the fixtures on 8 April 2026.
Final
Broadcasting The league was broadcast live on the following channels:
CountryTelevision RightsStreaming RightsNepalSony SportsKantipur MaxKantipur Max (YouTube)IndiaSony SportsFanCodeMiddle East and North AfricaNoneSportvotSoutheast AsiaNew ZealandUnited States and CanadaWillow TVWillow TV (YouTube)Rest of the WorldSony Sports
References
External links Official EUT20 Belgium Website Series home at ESPNcricinfo