ILT20 Auction 2026: Top Buys, Full Squads and Sold Players
Published on October 2, 2026
Summary Overview: ILT20 Season 5 auction results: Fazalhaq Farooqi tops the list at $380,000, Babar Azam joins Desert Vipers, and four players break the old record. Full squads for all six teams.
$380,000 for Farooqi! Every Big Buy and Full Squad From the ILT20 Season 5 Auction
Who was the most expensive player?
Afghanistan left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, bought by MI Emirates for USD 380,000, a new ILT20 record.
How many players broke the old record?
Four. Farooqi, Liam Livingstone (USD 350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (USD 310,000) and Faf du Plessis (USD 300,000) all beat the previous high of USD 260,000 set by Andre Fletcher last season.
Where is Babar Azam playing?
Desert Vipers, the defending champions, bought him for USD 80,000. It will be his first ILT20 season.
The Story: Big Money in Dubai
The DP World ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction took place on October 1, 2026 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, and it was a record-breaking day. More than 400 players from 23 countries were in the auction pool, and the six franchises spent freely to complete their squads.
For readers new to franchise cricket: the ILT20 (International League T20) is the UAE's professional T20 league, a little like the IPL in India or the CPL in the Caribbean. Six city-based teams fill their squads with stars from around the world plus local UAE players. In an auction, teams bid against each other for players, and the highest bid wins. Each team also had Right-to-Match (RTM) cards, which let a team keep a player from its previous squad by matching the highest bid.
Season 5 runs from November 22 to December 20, 2026, with 34 matches across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
The Top Buys
| Rank | Player | Country | Team | Price (USD) |
| 1 | Fazalhaq Farooqi | Afghanistan | MI Emirates | $380,000 |
| 2 | Liam Livingstone | England | Gulf Giants | $350,000 |
| 3 | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Afghanistan | Gulf Giants | $310,000 (RTM) |
| 4 | Faf du Plessis | South Africa | Dubai Capitals | $300,000 |
| 5 | Alzarri Joseph | West Indies | Gulf Giants | $230,000 |
| 6 | Muhammad Waseem | UAE | MI Emirates | $210,000 (RTM) |
| 7 | Richard Gleeson | England | Sharjah Warriorz | $180,000 |
| 8 | Chris Jordan | England | MI Emirates | $170,000 |
| 9 | David Payne | England | Desert Vipers | $150,000 (RTM) |
| 9 | Allah Ghazanfar | Afghanistan | MI Emirates | $150,000 (RTM) |
| 11 | Mohammad Nabi | Afghanistan | Sharjah Warriorz | $140,000 |
Five Big Storylines
1. A new record, broken four times. Last season's top price was USD 260,000. This time four players went past it, led by Farooqi's USD 380,000 deal with MI Emirates.
2. Babar Azam's ILT20 debut. The former Pakistan captain joins Desert Vipers along with fellow Pakistan stars Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman, all at their USD 80,000 base price. Naseem and Fakhar return to the defending champions.
3. A record for UAE cricket. Opener Muhammad Waseem became the most expensive UAE player in ILT20 history when MI Emirates used their RTM card to keep him for USD 210,000.
4. Gulf Giants went all in. They spent USD 1,972,000, bringing in Livingstone, Gurbaz and both Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph on top of an existing core of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen.
5. Bargains and a big name unsold. Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton all went for their base price of USD 80,000. Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir went unsold.
Full Squads
Each team arrived with four players already signed (pre-auction signings and retentions), then completed its squad at the auction. Teams had to spend between USD 1.5 million and USD 2 million.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (spent USD 1,549,000)
Pre-auction: Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp, Sunil Narine
Auction: Alishan Sharafu (110,000, RTM), Amshi De Silva (100,000), Muhammad Rohid (95,000), Moeen Ali (80,000), Arab Gul (80,000), Usman Tariq (80,000), Gulbadin Naib (75,000), Ibrar Ahmed (46,000), Andre Fletcher (40,000), Ajay Kumar (40,000), Colin Munro (40,000), Michael Pepper (40,000), Qais Ahmad (38,000), Jakeem Pollard (10,000), Abdul Mannan Ali (10,000), Ravija Sandaruwan (10,000), Abdullah Tarakhail (10,000), Lorcan Tucker (10,000)
Verdict: A deep, balanced squad built around Narine and Holder, with Moeen Ali adding experience. Last year's record buy, Andre Fletcher, arrives for just USD 40,000.
Desert Vipers, the Defending Champions (spent USD 1,544,000)
Pre-auction: Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer
Auction: David Payne (150,000, RTM), Fakhar Zaman (80,000), Naseem Shah (80,000), Babar Azam (80,000), Shadab Khan (80,000), Khuzaima Bin Tanveer (75,000, RTM), Vriitya Aravind (70,000), Aneurin Donald (40,000), Abdullah Ahmadzai (40,000), Joe Clarke (40,000), Nangeyalia Kharote (28,000), Sanjay Pahal (22,000), Harry Tector (12,000), Ishtiaq Ahmed (12,000), Nilansh Keswani (10,000), Saleem Safi (10,000), Bilal Tahir (10,000), Wali Muhammad (10,000)
Verdict: The champions kept their core and added a Pakistan spine of Babar, Naseem, Shadab and Fakhar. They were also among the most careful spenders.
Dubai Capitals (spent USD 1,834,000)
Pre-auction: Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rovman Powell
Auction: Faf du Plessis (300,000), Max Holden (100,000), Dasun Shanaka (100,000, RTM), Aayan Khan (95,000), Hassan Khan (90,000), Phil Salt (80,000), Sediqullah Atal (70,000), Mark Adair (55,000), Karim Janat (40,000), Luke Wood (40,000), Tom Moores (40,000), Haider Ali (38,000), Zuhaib Zubair (26,000), Darwish Rasooli (10,000), Muhammad Arfan (10,000), Matt Potts (10,000), Usman Najeeb (10,000), Anudeep Chenthamara (10,000), Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz (10,000)
Verdict: Du Plessis and Salt give them one of the most experienced top orders in the league.
Gulf Giants (spent USD 1,972,000)
Pre-auction: Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen
Auction: Liam Livingstone (350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (310,000, RTM), Alzarri Joseph (230,000), Shamar Joseph (80,000), David Wiese (70,000), Ibrahim Zadran (65,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (40,000), Curtis Campher (22,000), Dhruv Parashar (10,000), Matiullah Khan (10,000), Haider Razzaq (10,000), Imran Mir (10,000), Imtiaz Khan (10,000), Meet Bhavsar (10,000, RTM), Shubham Ranjane (10,000), Wahidullah Zadran (10,000), Awais Ahmed (10,000), Sagar Kalyan (10,000), Alick Athanaze (10,000)
Verdict: On paper the most explosive batting line-up in the league: Gurbaz, Livingstone, Miller and Klaasen, backed by two West Indian fast bowlers.
MI Emirates, Season 4 Finalists (spent USD 2,000,000)
Pre-auction: Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford
Auction: Fazalhaq Farooqi (380,000), Muhammad Waseem (210,000, RTM), Chris Jordan (170,000), Allah Ghazanfar (150,000, RTM), Lizaad Williams (110,000), James Coles (100,000), Jonny Bairstow (80,000), Kusal Perera (40,000), Jordan Thompson (40,000), Zahoor Khan (30,000), Wasim Akram (10,000), Zain Ul Abidin (10,000), Muhammad Shafeeq (10,000), Asa Tribe (10,000), Raizal Nadir Nather Shah (10,000), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (10,000), Faridoon Dawoodzai (10,000), Ross Adair (10,000)
Verdict: They spent the full USD 2 million allowed. Farooqi and Ghazanfar join Rashid Khan for a frightening Afghan bowling trio.
Sharjah Warriorz (spent USD 1,792,000)
Pre-auction: Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil, Sikandar Raza
Auction: Richard Gleeson (180,000), Mohammad Nabi (140,000), Paul Walter (110,000), Adil Rashid (80,000), Brandon McMullen (80,000), Tom Banton (80,000), Craig Overton (80,000), George Linde (40,000), Ali Aamer Naseer (40,000), Fareed Malik (40,000), Sharafuddin Ashraf (40,000), Logan van Beek (40,000), Junaid Siddique (10,000), Tanish Suri (10,000), Nabeel Aziz (10,000), George Dockrell (10,000), Mohammad Saqib (10,000), Arunraj Selvaraj (10,000), James Rew (10,000)
Verdict: A strong English core of Banton, Rashid, Overton, Gleeson and Walter, with Nabi and Raza bringing all-round experience.
Players by Country
The ILT20 is one of the most international leagues in cricket. Here are the headline names from each country.
Afghanistan: The biggest contingent of stars. Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Allah Ghazanfar, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Karim Janat and Waqar Salamkheil.
England: A huge presence. Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Richard Gleeson, Paul Walter, Craig Overton, David Payne, James Vince, Dan Lawrence, Aneurin Donald, Joe Clarke, James Coles and Jordan Thompson.
West Indies: Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph and Andre Fletcher.
Pakistan: Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Usman Tariq.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams and George Linde.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Adam Milne and Colin Munro.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Perera.
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani.
Australia: Marcus Stoinis.
Bangladesh: Mustafizur Rahman.
Ireland: Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, George Dockrell, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Ross Adair.
UAE: Every team must include local players. The standouts were Muhammad Waseem (record USD 210,000), Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Rohid, Aayan Khan, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer and Vriitya Aravind.
USA: Amshi De Silva (USD 100,000), Hassan Khan (USD 90,000), Andries Gous, Matthew Tromp and Shubham Ranjane.
Other Associate nations: Scotland's Brandon McMullen, Namibia's David Wiese and the Netherlands' Logan van Beek. Kuwait (including Ravija Sandaruwan, Bilal Tahir, Meet Bhavsar, Anudeep Chenthamara, Muhammad Shafeeq and Arunraj Selvaraj) and Saudi Arabia (including Ishtiaq Ahmed, Imtiaz Khan, Abdul Mannan Ali, Usman Najeeb, Zain Ul Abidin and Mohammad Saqib) each placed players with several teams.
India: Active Indian cricketers are not allowed to play in overseas franchise leagues, so India were barely represented in the auction pool.
Familiar Faces From Canada Super 60
Several players are currently starring in Canada Super 60, which Cricket Daily has been covering this week. They include Richard Gleeson, David Wiese, Colin Munro and Sikandar Raza (Mississauga Masters), Mustafizur Rahman, Chris Jordan, Tom Moores and Aneurin Donald (Vancouver Anchors), Brandon McMullen and Jordan Thompson (Whiterock Warriors), Junaid Siddique (Montreal Royal Tigers) and Asa Tribe and Matthew Tromp (Brampton Blitz).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the most expensive player at the ILT20 2026 auction?
Fazalhaq Farooqi, bought by MI Emirates for USD 380,000, a new league record.
Which team did Babar Azam join?
Desert Vipers, the defending champions, for his USD 80,000 base price. It will be his first ILT20 season.
Who is the most expensive UAE player in ILT20 history?
Muhammad Waseem, kept by MI Emirates for USD 210,000 using their Right-to-Match card.
Which team spent the most?
MI Emirates spent the maximum USD 2,000,000, followed closely by Gulf Giants at USD 1,972,000.
When does ILT20 Season 5 start?
November 22, 2026, with the final on December 20, across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
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