There will again be a significant English influence in the fifth edition of the ILT20 following the completion of the player auction.

The ILT20 will take place from November 22 to December 20 this year, but will run parallelly to the ODI World Cup qualifiers, for which UAE is still in contentionSee…

Farooqi, Liam Livingstone and Rahmanullah Gurbaz breached the USD 300,000 mark at the ILT20 auction

Fazalhaq Farooqi (Photo credit: ILT20) Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi became the most expensive player in International League T20 (ILT20) Player Auction history after being bought by MI Emirates for USD 380,000 on Thursday.Farooqi will join MI Emirates for a fifth consecutive season. His deal broke the auction record for the third time during the day.Liam Livingstone had earlier set a new record when Gulf Giants bought him for USD 350,000. Before Livingstone, Gulf Giants had used their Right-to-Match option to retain Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for USD 310,000, making him the most expensive player in ILT20 auction history at that point.Before Gurbaz, Faf du Plessis held the record after joining Dubai Capitals for USD 300,000.Babar Azam was bought by Desert Vipers for his base price of USD 80,000.

MI Emirates have appointed former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher as their head coach ahead of ILT20 2026-27. He takes over from former India allrounder Robin Singh, under whom MI Emirates won the ILT20 title in 2024. Boucher joins the side just a day before the auction for the fifth edition of the tournament, which takes place in Dubai on Wednesday.

The ILT20 will take place from November 22 to December 20 this year, but will run parallelly to the ODI World Cup qualifiers, for which UAE is still in contention

ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction will be held on October 1. (ILT20 Photo) Babar Azam, Phil Salt, Wanindu Hasaranga, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Liam Livingstone, Faf du Plessis and Alzarri Joseph are among the leading names in the player pool for the DP World ILT20 Season 5 auction, which will be held in Dubai on October 1.More than 200 players from 23 countries have been shortlisted for the auction, which will take place at the ICC Academy Indoors from 1pm GST (2:30pm IST). The six franchises will use the auction to complete their squads ahead of the 34-match season, which runs from November 21 to December 20.The player pool includes representatives from 11 ICC Full Member nations, along with cricketers from ILT20 partners Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and 10 other Associate Member nations.Players have been divided into three base-price categories of $80,000, $40,000 and $10,000.The highest bracket features several established T20 names, including Babar, Salt, Banton, Gurbaz, Hasaranga, Livingstone, du Plessis, Joseph, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Naseem Shah, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Chris Woakes.Several players in the top bracket featured in Season 4, with Salt having represented Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Banton turning out for MI Emirates and Gurbaz playing for Gulf Giants.

DUBAI – Pakistan star batter Babar Azam has been signed by Desert Vipers for $80,000 at the DP World ILT20 Season 5 auction. The deal sees Babar, one of the leading cricketers in world cricket, become part of the UAE-based franchise league. Babar is currently featuring in Pakistan’s President’s Trophy Grade-I and remains involved in […] The post Babar Azam joins Desert Vipers for $80,000 in ILT20 Season 5 appeared first on Daily Pakistan English News.

Emerging Cricket reviews the 3rd edition of ILT20, where Impact Player rules and low domestic quotas limited UAE player involvement.