ILT20 Auction to Feature 200 Players from 23 Countries, Including Babar and Gurbaz

200 players from 23 countries have registered for the ILT20 Season 5 auction—including Babar Azam, Phil Salt, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Faf du Plessis, Liam Livingstone, and Wanindu Hasaranga.

ILT20 Auction to Feature 200 Players from 23 Countries, Including Babar and Gurbaz

Many major cricket stars from around the world will go under the hammer in the auction for the fifth season of the International League T20 (ILT20). A total of 200 players have registered for the tournament's auction, including Pakistan's Babar Azam, England's Phil Salt, and Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The player auction will take place on October 1 at the ICC Academy Indoor in Dubai, where all six franchises will participate to strengthen their squads.

The fifth season of the ILT20 will be played in the UAE between November 21 and December 20. Players from 23 countries are participating in the auction; this includes players from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as well as from the 11 ICC Full Member nations. Only Murugan Ashwin from India has registered for the auction. Since active Indian players are not permitted to play in overseas T20 leagues, he is the only Indian participating in the auction.

17 Pakistani players in the auction

A total of 17 Pakistani players are participating in the auction. Apart from Babar Azam, players such as Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Usman Tariq, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Saim Ayub, Khushdil Shah, Maaz Sadaqat, and Sahibzada Farhan will also be available for bidding. The players have been placed into three categories based on their base prices: US$80,000, US$40,000, and US$10,000.

Babar Azam, Phil Salt, Tom Banton, David Willey, Fakhar Zaman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Usman Tariq, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Alzarri Joseph, Wanindu Hasaranga, Faf du Plessis, Taskin Ahmed, Alex Hales, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Chris Woakes, and Dasun Shanaka have been placed in the highest base price category of $80,000. Apart from them, players such as Jayden Seales, Ibrahim Zadran, Shadab Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Avishka Fernando, Hassan Nawaz, Shoriful Islam, Maaz Sadaqat, Kusal Perera, Gulbadin Naib, Chris Green, Andre Fletcher, and Hunain Shah will also try their luck in the auction.

How much money does each team have?

Each franchise will have a budget of $1.3 million for the auction. Additionally, teams can utilize any remaining funds from the $700,000 allocated for pre-auction player signings. MI Emirates will have the highest budget at $1.39 million. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will have $1.365 million, while Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants will each have $1.305 million. Meanwhile, Dubai Capitals and Sharjah Warriors have exhausted the entire $700,000 allocated for pre-auction signings; consequently, both franchises will enter the auction with a budget of $1.3 million.

RTM Option for UAE Players

Franchises will be permitted to use the 'Right to Match' (RTM) option for UAE players. This option can be exercised for a UAE player who either played for that franchise in Season 4 or was part of the same team in the recently concluded ILT20 Development Tournament.

Certain rules have been established regarding team squads in the ILT20. Each franchise must have a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 23 players. Of these, at least 11 players must be from ICC Full Member nations; this group of 11 must include a minimum of four players from Afghanistan and at least one from Ireland. Additionally, each team is required to include at least four players from the UAE, one from Kuwait, and one from Saudi Arabia.

Teams are also required to include at least one player from an ICC Associate nation other than the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.