Dubai, 1 October 2026: Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi became the most expensive buy in ILT20 auction history on Thursday, when MI Emirates paid USD 380,000 for him at the Season 5 Player Auction.
Three more players went past the previous record of USD 260,000, set by Andre Fletcher with MI Emirates in Season 4. Liam Livingstone joined Gulf Giants for USD 350,000. Rahmanullah Gurbaz stayed with the Giants for USD 310,000 after they used their Right-to-Match option, and Faf du Plessis went to Dubai Capitals for USD 300,000.
Pakistan quartet go to Desert Vipers at base price
Desert Vipers, the defending champions, signed Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman for their base price of USD 80,000 each. Babar will play in the ILT20 for the first time. Naseem and Fakhar return to the Vipers.
The Vipers also used Right-to-Match to keep David Payne for USD 150,000, and bought England’s Aneurin Donald and wicketkeeper-batter Joe Clarke for USD 40,000 each.
Muhammad Waseem becomes costliest UAE player
MI Emirates used Right-to-Match on Muhammad Waseem for USD 210,000. No UAE player has gone for more at an ILT20 auction.
Alishan Sharafu went to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for USD 110,000. Muhammad Rohid (Knight Riders) and Aayan Khan (Dubai Capitals) both went for USD 95,000. Desert Vipers kept Khuzaima Bin Tanveer for USD 75,000 through Right-to-Match and added Vriitya Aravind for USD 70,000.
Players from Associate nations also drew bids. USA’s Amshi De Silva joined the Knight Riders for USD 100,000 and his compatriot Hassan Khan went to Dubai Capitals for USD 90,000. Sharjah Warriorz paid USD 80,000 for Scotland’s Brandon McMullen, while Gulf Giants signed Namibia’s David Wiese for USD 70,000.
How the other franchises spent
Gulf Giants followed Livingstone and Gurbaz with West Indies fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph (USD 230,000) and Shamar Joseph (USD 80,000). Ibrahim Zadran cost USD 65,000 and Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher USD 22,000.
MI Emirates bought Chris Jordan for USD 170,000 and South Africa’s Lizaad Williams for USD 110,000 in the accelerated rounds. Last season’s finalists also kept Allah Ghazanfar through Right-to-Match for USD 150,000 and added James Coles (USD 100,000) and Kusal Perera (USD 40,000).
Sharjah Warriorz built around English players. Richard Gleeson cost USD 180,000 and Paul Walter USD 110,000, with Tom Banton, Craig Overton and Adil Rashid all signed at USD 80,000. Mohammad Nabi joined for USD 140,000.
Dubai Capitals kept Dasun Shanaka for USD 100,000 through Right-to-Match, paid the same for Max Holden and got Phil Salt at his base price of USD 80,000. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders signed Moeen Ali for USD 80,000, while Andre Fletcher and Colin Munro went for USD 40,000 each.
Season 5 ambassador Brett Lee was at the auction with AB de Villiers, Allan Donald, Shoaib Malik and Usman Khawaja.
ILT20 Season 5 squads
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (spent USD 1,549,000): Alishan Sharafu (USD 110,000), Amshi De Silva (USD 100,000), Muhammad Rohid (USD 95,000), Moeen Ali (USD 80,000), Arab Gul (USD 80,000), Usman Tariq (USD 80,000), Gulbadin Naib (USD 75,000), Ibrar Ahmed (USD 46,000), Andre Fletcher (USD 40,000), Ajay Kumar (USD 40,000), Colin Munro (USD 40,000), Michael Pepper (USD 40,000), Qais Ahmad (USD 38,000), Jakeem Pollard, Abdul Mannan Ali, Ravija Sandaruwan, Abdullah Tarakhail, Lorcan Tucker (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp, Sunil Narine.
Desert Vipers (spent USD 1,544,000): David Payne (USD 150,000), Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan (USD 80,000 each), Khuzaima Bin Tanveer (USD 75,000), Vriitya Aravind (USD 70,000), Aneurin Donald, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Joe Clarke (USD 40,000 each), Nangeyalia Kharote (USD 28,000), Sanjay Pahal (USD 22,000), Harry Tector, Ishtiaq Ahmed (USD 12,000 each), Nilansh Keswani, Saleem Safi, Bilal Tahir, Wali Muhammad (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer.
Dubai Capitals (spent USD 1,834,000): Faf du Plessis (USD 300,000), Max Holden, Dasun Shanaka (USD 100,000 each), Aayan Khan (USD 95,000), Hassan Khan (USD 90,000), Phil Salt (USD 80,000), Sediqullah Atal (USD 70,000), Mark Adair (USD 55,000), Karim Janat, Luke Wood, Tom Moores (USD 40,000 each), Haider Ali (USD 38,000), Zuhaib Zubair (USD 26,000), Darwish Rasooli, Muhammad Arfan, Matt Potts, Usman Najeeb, Anudeep Chenthamara, Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rovman Powell.
Gulf Giants (spent USD 1,972,000): Liam Livingstone (USD 350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (USD 310,000), Alzarri Joseph (USD 230,000), Shamar Joseph (USD 80,000), David Wiese (USD 70,000), Ibrahim Zadran (USD 65,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (USD 40,000), Curtis Campher (USD 22,000), Dhruv Parashar, Matiullah Khan, Haider Razzaq, Imran Mir, Imtiaz Khan, Meet Bhavsar, Shubham Ranjane, Wahidullah Zadran, Awais Ahmed, Sagar Kalyan, Alick Athanaze (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen.
MI Emirates (spent USD 2,000,000): Fazalhaq Farooqi (USD 380,000), Muhammad Waseem (USD 210,000), Chris Jordan (USD 170,000), Allah Ghazanfar (USD 150,000), Lizaad Williams (USD 110,000), James Coles (USD 100,000), Jonny Bairstow (USD 80,000), Kusal Perera, Jordan Thompson (USD 40,000 each), Zahoor Khan (USD 30,000), Wasim Akram, Zain Ul Abidin, Muhammad Shafeeq, Asa Tribe, Raizal Nadir Nather Shah, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Ross Adair (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford.
Sharjah Warriorz (spent USD 1,792,000): Richard Gleeson (USD 180,000), Mohammad Nabi (USD 140,000), Paul Walter (USD 110,000), Adil Rashid, Brandon McMullen, Tom Banton, Craig Overton (USD 80,000 each), George Linde, Ali Aamer Naseer, Fareed Malik, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Logan van Beek (USD 40,000 each), Junaid Siddique, Tanish Suri, Nabeel Aziz, George Dockrell, Mohammad Saqib, Arunraj Selvaraj, James Rew (USD 10,000 each). Retained and direct signings: Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil, Sikandar Raza.
For the names that went under the hammer, see our auction list preview and the auction purse details.
