Babar Azam, Shadab Khan among Pakistan stars registered for ILT20 Season 5 auction

Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam will headline the list of Pakistani cricketers registered for the DP World International League T20 (ILT20) Season 5 Player Auction, scheduled to take place at the ICC Academy Indoors in Dubai on Thursday, October 1.

Babar has been placed in the highest base-price category of USD 80,000 alongside several globally recognised T20 players, including England’s Phil Salt, Tom Banton and Liam Livingstone, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis.

Several other Pakistani players have also entered the auction, with their base prices spread across different categories. Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Usman Tariq and Sahibzada Farhan have been listed in the USD 80,000 bracket, joining Babar among the Pakistani names available at the highest starting price.

Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan has been placed in the USD 40,000 category alongside fellow countrymen Hassan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat and Hunain Shah. The bracket features a combination of established international performers and emerging T20 talent from various cricketing nations.

The auction will feature more than 400 players from 23 countries, including representatives of 11 ICC Full Member nations, ILT20 partner countries Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and 10 additional Associate Member nations. Players have been divided into three base-price categories of USD 80,000, USD 40,000 and USD 10,000.

The highest-price category also includes several players who featured for ILT20 franchises in the previous season, including Salt, who represented Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Banton, who played for MI Emirates, and Gurbaz, who represented Gulf Giants. Fakhar and Usman Tariq were part of Desert Vipers, while Naseem Shah featured for the same franchise in Season 4.

The USD 40,000 bracket includes West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales, Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran, Sri Lanka batter Kusal Perera and Bangladesh all-rounder Shoriful Islam. The USD 10,000 category features players such as Will Smeed, Reeza Hendricks, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Ish Sodhi and Bas de Leede.

A major focus of the auction will be the recruitment of UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia players, all of whom will enter at a base price of USD 10,000. Under the Season 5 recruitment rules, franchises could not retain players from these three countries, setting the stage for potential bidding contests for UAE internationals, including Muhammad Waseem, Junaid Siddique, Haider Ali, Ayan Afzal Khan, Alishan Sharafu and Khuzaima Tanveer.

Each franchise will have one Right to Match option to retain a UAE player who represented the team in Season 4 or in the recently concluded ILT20 Development Tournament.

MI Emirates will enter the auction with the largest available purse of USD 1.39 million, followed by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders with USD 1.365 million. Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants have USD 1.305 million each, while Dubai Capitals and Sharjah Warriorz will have USD 1.3 million apiece.

At the conclusion of the auction, each franchise must have between 18 and 23 players. Squads must include at least 11 players from ICC Full Member countries, including a minimum of four from Afghanistan and one from Ireland. Each team must also recruit at least four UAE players, one player from Kuwait, one from Saudi Arabia and another Associate Member player from outside those three countries.

Franchises must spend at least USD 1.5 million and no more than USD 2 million, with the option to sign one Wildcard player after the auction for an additional fee of up to USD 250,000.

The playing XI in every match must feature at least two UAE players, two Afghanistan players and one additional Associate Member player.

The latter position can be filled by a third UAE player or a cricketer from another Associate Member nation, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The ILT20 Season 5 will be played from November 21 to December 20, 2026, with matches scheduled at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The tournament fixtures are expected to be announced soon.

The player auction will be livestreamed on the official ILT20 YouTube channel, while viewers in India will be able to watch it on Zee5.