The DP World ILT20 Season 5 player auction took place on Thursday, 1 October 2026 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, where the league’s six franchises completed their squads for the upcoming season. Around 400 players from 23 countries registered for the auction, with a mix of established international T20 stars and emerging talent from the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other associate nations going under the hammer across 24 rounds of bidding, followed by an accelerated round.
Each franchise entered the auction with a purse of USD 1.3 million plus any amount left over from the pre-auction signing window, and every team needed a squad of at least 18 and at most 23 players. The headline buy of the day was Fazalhaq Farooqi, picked up by MI Emirates for USD 380,000, the highest price of the auction. Gulf Giants were the other big spenders at the top end, signing Liam Livingstone for USD 350,000 and using a Right to Match card to retain Rahmanullah Gurbaz for USD 310,000, while Dubai Capitals brought in Faf du Plessis for USD 300,000. Babar Azam, set to feature in the ILT20 for the first time, joined the Desert Vipers for USD 80,000.
ILT20 2026 Sold Players List
The table below lists every player sold at the ILT20 2026 auction, the price they were sold for, and the franchise that signed them. Prices are shown in US dollars. “RTM” indicates that the franchise used a Right to Match card to secure the player.
| No. | Player | Sold Price (USD) | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fazalhaq Farooqi | 380,000 | MI Emirates |
| 2 | Liam Livingstone | 350,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 3 | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 310,000 (RTM) | Gulf Giants |
| 4 | Faf du Plessis | 300,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 5 | Alzarri Joseph | 230,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 6 | Muhammad Waseem | 210,000 (RTM) | MI Emirates |
| 7 | Richard Gleeson | 180,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 8 | Chris Jordan | 170,000 | MI Emirates |
| 9 | David Payne | 150,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 10 | Allah Ghazanfar | 150,000 (RTM) | MI Emirates |
| 11 | Mohammad Nabi | 140,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 12 | Alishan Sharafu | 110,000 (RTM) | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 13 | Lizaad Williams | 110,000 | MI Emirates |
| 14 | Paul Walter | 110,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 15 | Amshi de Silva | 100,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 16 | Dasun Shanaka | 100,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 17 | Max Holden | 100,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 18 | James Coles | 100,000 | MI Emirates |
| 19 | Muhammad Rohid | 95,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 20 | Aayan Khan | 95,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 21 | Hassan Khan | 90,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 22 | Moeen Ali | 80,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 23 | Usman Tariq | 80,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 24 | Babar Azam | 80,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 25 | Fakhar Zaman | 80,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 26 | Naseem Shah | 80,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 27 | Shadab Khan | 80,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 28 | Phil Salt | 80,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 29 | Shamar Joseph | 80,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 30 | Jonny Bairstow | 80,000 | MI Emirates |
| 31 | Adil Rashid | 80,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 32 | Brandon McMullen | 80,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 33 | Craig Overton | 80,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 34 | Tom Banton | 80,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 35 | Gulbadin Naib | 75,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 36 | Khuzaima Bin Tanveer | 75,000 (RTM) | Desert Vipers |
| 37 | Vriitya Aravind | 70,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 38 | Sediqullah Atal | 70,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 39 | David Wiese | 70,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 40 | Ibrahim Zadran | 65,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 41 | Mark Adair | 55,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 42 | Ibrar Ahmed | 46,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 43 | Ajay Kumar | 40,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 44 | Andre Fletcher | 40,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 45 | Colin Munro | 40,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 46 | Michael Pepper | 40,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 47 | Abdullah Ahmadzai | 40,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 48 | Aneurin Donald | 40,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 49 | Joe Clarke | 40,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 50 | Karim Janat | 40,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 51 | Luke Wood | 40,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 52 | Tom Moores | 40,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 53 | Tabraiz Shamsi | 40,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 54 | Jordon Thompson | 40,000 | MI Emirates |
| 55 | Ali Aamer Naseer | 40,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 56 | Fareed Malik | 40,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 57 | George Linde | 40,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 58 | Logan van Beek | 40,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 59 | Sarafuddin Ashraf | 40,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 60 | Qais Ahmad | 38,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 61 | Haider Ali | 38,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 62 | Zahour Khan | 30,000 | MI Emirates |
| 63 | Nangeyalia Kharote | 28,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 64 | Zuhaib Zubair | 26,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 65 | Sanjay Pahal | 22,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 66 | Curtis Campher | 22,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 67 | Harry Tector | 12,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 68 | Ishtiaq Ahmed | 12,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 69 | Abdul Mannan Ali | 10,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 70 | Abdullah Tarakhail | 10,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 71 | Jakeem Pollard | 10,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 72 | Lorcan Tucker | 10,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 73 | Ravija Sandaruwan | 10,000 | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
| 74 | Bilal Tahir | 10,000 (RTM) | Desert Vipers |
| 75 | Nilansh Keswani | 10,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 76 | Saleem Safi | 10,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 77 | Wali Muhammad | 10,000 | Desert Vipers |
| 78 | Anudeep Chenthamara | 10,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 79 | Darwish Rasooli | 10,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 80 | Masood ul Rahman Gurbaz | 10,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 81 | Matthew Potts | 10,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 82 | Muhammad Arfan | 10,000 | Dubai Capitals |
| 83 | Usman Najeeb | 10,000 (RTM) | Dubai Capitals |
| 84 | Alick Athanaze | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 85 | Awais Ahmad | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 86 | Dhruv Parashar | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 87 | Haider Razzaq | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 88 | Imran Mir | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 89 | Imtiaz Khan | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 90 | Matiullah Khan | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 91 | Meet Bhavsar | 10,000 (RTM) | Gulf Giants |
| 92 | Sagar Kalyan | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 93 | Shubham Ranjane | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 94 | Wahidullah Zadran | 10,000 | Gulf Giants |
| 95 | Asa Tribe | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 96 | Faridoon Dawoodzai | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 97 | Mohammad Shafeeq | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 98 | Raizal Nadir Nather Shah | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 99 | Ross Adair | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 100 | Sanjay Krishnamurthi | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 101 | Waseem Akram | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 102 | Zain ul Abidin | 10,000 | MI Emirates |
| 103 | Arunraj Selvaraj | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 104 | George Dockrell | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 105 | James Rew | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 106 | Junaid Siddique | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 107 | Mohammad Saqib | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 108 | Nabeel Aziz | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
| 109 | Tanish Suri | 10,000 | Sharjah Warriorz |
RTM = Right to Match card used by the franchise. During the live auction, Kusal Perera (bid on by MI Emirates) and Arab Gul (bid on by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) were also called, but neither player features in the franchises’ final published squads.
ILT20 2026 Unsold Players List
The following players registered for the ILT20 2026 auction but did not find a buyer. Listed alphabetically, the unsold players were:
Adam Hose, Adithya Shetty, Adnan Idrees, Akshdeep Nath, Alex Hales, Ali Khan, Ali Zaheer Uddin, Andrew Balbirnie, Ansal Nazar, Ansh Tandon, Aryan Dutt, Asel Sigera, Bas de Leede, Basil Hameed, Ben Calitz, Bilal Sami, Brandon King, Caleb Falconer, Carmi le Roux, Chris Woakes, Clinto Anto, Colin Ackermann, Dan Mousley, Dan Worrall, Dipendra Singh Airee, Dushmantha Chameera, Dwayne Pretorius, Ethan D’souza, Fabian Allen, Faisal Khan, Faisal Tahir, Falaknoor Noor, Farhan Khan, Farmanullah Safi, Gareth Delany, George Munsey, Gerhard Erasmus, Gudakesh Motie, Harmeet Singh Baddhan, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshit Kaushik, Hasan Ali, Hasan Mahmud, Hassan Eisakhil, Hassan Nawaz, Henry Crocombe, Hilal Afghan, Imran Tahir, Imran Yousuf, Israr Ahmad, Izharulhaq Naveed, Jai Moondra, Jason Roy, Jayden Seales, Jon Jon Smuts, Jordan Clark, Josh Little, Jude Saldanha, Junaid Shamshuddin, Kamil Pooran, Khalil Gurbaz, KS Bharat, Kyle Mayers, Lewis Gregory, Liam Dawson, Luqmen Faisal, Manjula Prasana, Mark Watt, Matthew Forde, Max Chu, Md Shaikh Saif, Mohamed Aslam, Mohammad Adnan, Mohammad Ibrahim Masood, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Sohaib Khan, Mohammed Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Atif, Mohammed Hisham Shaikh, Monank Patel, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Uzair Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nathan Sowter, Naveen Raj, Nimish Latheef, Noor ul Rahman Akakhail, Nooristani Omarzai, Obus Pienaar, Ollie Stone, Ollie Sykes, Pathum Nissanka, Paul Stirling, Prasath Jeyaprakash, Quentin Sampson, Rahmat Shah, Rassie van der Dussen, Reece Topley, Reeza Hendricks, Rehan Ahmed, Rilee Rossouw, Ronak Panoly, Roston Chase, Rushil Ugarkar, Sachindu Colombage, Saeed Naqqash, Saeed Nazeer, Sandaruwan Chinthaka, Santosh Kumar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Shahidullah Kamal, Shakib Al Hasan, Shayan Jahangir, Shiraz Khan, Siddharth Sankar, Syed Ali Abbas, Tahir Zaman, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Tim Tector, Tom Abell, Tom Alsop, Tom Bruce, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tymal Mills, Uddish Suri, Umar Abdullah, Ummer Abbas, Usaid Amin, Usman Ghani Patel, Vishwa Teja Nettem, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Wanindu Hasaranga, Will Smeed, Yama Arab, Yasin Patel, Yuvraaj Samra, Zahid Iqbal, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Zeeshan Naseer and Ziaur Rahman Sharifi.
Complete Player Lists of Each ILT20 2026 Team after the Auction
Here are the complete details of ILT20 teams after 2026 auction –
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders built around their pre-auction core of Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp and Sunil Narine. At the auction they added experienced international all-rounders in Moeen Ali, Colin Munro and Gulbadin Naib, secured UAE batter Alishan Sharafu with a Right to Match card, and brought in Sri Lanka’s Amshi de Silva for USD 100,000.
They ended the day with USD 451,000 still in the bank. The full Abu Dhabi Knight Riders squad reads: Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp, Sunil Narine, Muhammad Rohid, Alishan Sharafu, Ibrar Ahmed, Ajay Kumar, Moeen Ali, Andre Fletcher, Jakeem Pollard, Gulbadin Naib, Colin Munro, Amshi de Silva, Abdul Mannan Ali, Michael Pepper, Lorcan Tucker, Usman Tariq, Qais Ahmad, Abdullah Tarakhail and Ravija Sandaruwan.
Desert Vipers
The Desert Vipers retained a strong base of Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Shimron Hetmyer from the pre-auction window. Their standout move was signing Babar Azam, who will play in the ILT20 for the first time, and they added further Pakistan quality in Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan, along with pace option David Payne for USD 150,000.
The Vipers finished with USD 456,000 remaining, the largest purse left of any team. The full Desert Vipers squad reads: Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Vriitya Aravind, Nilansh Keswani, Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman, Aneurin Donald, David Payne, Nangeyalia Kharote, Sanjay Pahal, Harry Tector, Joe Clarke, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Shadab Khan, Bilal Tahir, Ishtiaq Ahmed and Wali Muhammad.
Dubai Capitals
Dubai Capitals went into the auction with Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Rovman Powell already on their books. They made one of the biggest statements of the day by signing Faf du Plessis for USD 300,000, and added further top-order strength in Phil Salt, Dasun Shanaka and Max Holden. The Capitals used their resources steadily and closed with USD 266,000 in hand.
The full Dubai Capitals squad reads: Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rovman Powell, Zuhaib Zubair, Aayan Khan, Haider Ali, Faf du Plessis, Dasun Shanaka, Phil Salt, Max Holden, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Karim Janat, Mark Adair, Muhammad Arfan, Matthew Potts, Hassan Khan, Anudeep Chenthamara, Usman Najeeb, Tom Moores, Luke Wood and Masood ul Rahman Gurbaz.
Gulf Giants
Gulf Giants carried forward Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, and were among the most active bidders at the top of the market. They signed Liam Livingstone for USD 350,000, used a Right to Match card to retain Rahmanullah Gurbaz for USD 310,000, and added West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph for USD 230,000. With so much spent on marquee names, the Giants were left with just USD 28,000, the smallest purse of all six teams.
The full Gulf Giants squad reads: Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Matiullah Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Liam Livingstone, Curtis Campher, Haider Razzaq, Shamar Joseph, Imran Mir, Alzarri Joseph, David Wiese, Shubham Ranjane, Meet Bhavsar, Imtiaz Khan, Alick Athanaze, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sagar Kalyan, Awais Ahmad and Wahidullah Zadran.
MI Emirates
MI Emirates retained a powerful group in Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd and Sherfane Rutherford, and then spent their entire purse at the auction. They secured the most expensive player of the day in Fazalhaq Farooqi for USD 380,000, used a Right to Match card on UAE opener Muhammad Waseem for USD 210,000, and added Chris Jordan, Jonny Bairstow and Allah Ghazanfar. MI Emirates finished with no money left in their purse.
The full MI Emirates squad reads: Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Muhammad Waseem, Zahour Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Waseem Akram, Allah Ghazanfar, Asa Tribe, Mohammad Shafeeq, Zain ul Abidin, Chris Jordan, James Coles, Lizaad Williams, Jordon Thompson, Ross Adair, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Raizal Nadir Nather Shah and Jonny Bairstow.
Sharjah Warriorz
Sharjah Warriorz began with Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil and Sikandar Raza. They strengthened their spin and all-round options with Mohammad Nabi and Adil Rashid, invested USD 180,000 in fast bowler Richard Gleeson, and added batting depth through Paul Walter and Tom Banton. The Warriorz ended the auction with USD 280,000 remaining.
The full Sharjah Warriorz squad reads: Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil, Sikandar Raza, Tanish Suri, Junaid Siddique, Ali Aamer Naseer, Adil Rashid, Mohammad Nabi, Richard Gleeson, George Linde, Paul Walter, Nabeel Aziz, George Dockrell, Brandon McMullen, Arunraj Selvaraj, Mohammad Saqib, Craig Overton, James Rew, Tom Banton, Logan van Beek, Sarafuddin Ashraf and Fareed Malik.
Purse Remaining After the Auction
| Team | Purse Remaining (USD) |
|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi Knight Riders | 451,000 |
| Desert Vipers | 456,000 |
| Dubai Capitals | 266,000 |
| Gulf Giants | 28,000 |
| MI Emirates | 0 |
| Sharjah Warriorz | 280,000 |
Conclusion: All The Teams Are Ready Now For ILT20 2026
The ILT20 2026 auction gave all six franchises the chance to round out their squads with a blend of global T20 names and regional talent. MI Emirates and Gulf Giants were the most aggressive at the top of the order, spending heavily on marquee signings such as Fazalhaq Farooqi, Liam Livingstone, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Alzarri Joseph, while the Desert Vipers and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders held back more of their budget for flexibility. Established international stars including Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis, Phil Salt and Mohammad Nabi found new homes, and a number of high profile players, among them Wanindu Hasaranga, Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen and Jason Roy, went unsold on the day.
With squads now confirmed, attention turns to the competition itself. DP World ILT20 Season 5 is scheduled to begin on 22 November 2026, and the franchises will spend the coming weeks finalising their combinations ahead of the new campaign.