DP World ILT20 Season 5 auction: Live updates as Fazalhaq Farooqi becomes costliest ILT20 player ever

Dubai: The DP World International League T20 Season 5 Player Auction will take place on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at the ICC Academy Indoors in Dubai. The auction will see the league’s six franchises complete their squads ahead of the fifth season of the UAE-based T20 competition.

The DP World ILT20 features six teams and a 34-match tournament. Season 5 will be played from November 21 to December 20, 2026, across three venues: Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Several prominent international players have already been secured through the pre-auction signing process, while several established stars have returned to their previous franchises.

Check the live updates after each round as Muhammad Waseem makes history becoming the costliest UAE player in ILT20 history.

Meanwhile Faf du Plessis became the costliest player of all time surpassing Andre Fletcher who cost MI Emirates $260,000 in the season 4 auction. However, Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz surpassed him in the throne within few minutes.

Gulf Giants made the Right to Match as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders made the $310,000 bid. Nevertheless, Liam Livingstone $350,000's price tag surpassed them both who was also bought by Giants. Another Afghanistan star Fazalhaq Farooqi then joined MI Emirates for the historic price tag of $380,000.

Surprisingly, Babar Azam was sold for base price to Desert Vipers, joining his Pakistani teammates Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah. Phil Salt was also sold for the base price despite being an aggressive T20 batter.

While Livingstone is amongst the highest earning players of the upcoming tournament, his fellow countrymen remained the majority in the unsold list.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

 Pre-auction signings:

• Finn Allen (New Zealand)

• Jason Holder (West Indies)

• Matthew Tromp (USA)

• Sunil Narine (West Indies)

Bought from the Auction:

• Muhammad Rohid (UAE) sold for $95,000

• Alishan Sharafu (UAE) sold for $110,000 - RTM

• Ibrar Ahmed (UAE) sold for $46,000

• Ajay Kumar (UAE) sold for $40,000

• Moeen Ali (England) sold for $80,000

• Andre Fletcher (West Indies) sold for $40,000

Desert Vipers

Pre-auction signings:

• Andries Gous (USA)

• Dan Lawrence (England)

• Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (Afghanistan)

• Shimron Hetmyer (West Indies)

Bought from the Auction:

• Khuzaima Bin Tanveer (UAE) sold $75,000 - RTM

• Vriitya Anand (UAE) sold for $70,000

• Nilansh Keshwani (UAE) sold for $10,000

• Babar Azam (Pakistan) sold for $80,000

• Naseem Shah (Pakistan) sold for $80,000

• Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) sold for $80,000

• Aneurin Donald (England) sold for $40,000

Dubai Capitals

Pre-auction signings:

• Marcus Stoinis (Australia)

• Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)

• Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan)

• Rovman Powell (West Indies)

Bought from the Auction:

• Zuhaib Zubair (UAE) sold for $26,000

• Aayan Khan (UAE) sold for $95,000

• Haider Ali (UAE) sold for $38,000

• Faf du Plessis (South Africa) sold for $300,000

• Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka) sold for $100,000 - RTM

• Phil Salt (England) sold for $80,000

• Max Holden (England) sold for $100,000

• Darwish Rasooli (Afghanistan) sold for $10,000

Gulf Giants

Pre-auction signings:

• Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)

• Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe)

• David Miller (South Africa)

• Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa)

Bought from the Auction:

• Matiullah Khan (UAE) sold for $10,000

• Dhruv Parashar (UAE) sold for $10,000

• Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan) sold for $65,000

• Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) sold for $310,000 - RTM

• Liam Livingstone (England) sold for $350,000

MI Emirates

Pre-auction signings:

• Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)

• Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

• Romario Shepherd (West Indies)

• Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies)

Bought from the Auction:

• Muhammad Waseem (UAE) sold for $210,000 - RTM

• Zahoor Khan (UAE) sold for $30,000

• Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan) sold for $380,000

Sharjah Warriorz

Pre-auction signings:

• Adam Milne (New Zealand)

• James Vince (England)

• Waqar Salamkheil (Afghanistan)

• Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) 

Bought from the Auction:

• Tanish Suri (UAE) sold for $10,000

• Ali Ameer Naseer (UAE) sold for $40,000

• Adil Rashid (England) sold for $80,000

• Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) sold for $140,000

Unsold players:

• Harpreet Singh Bhatia (UAE)

• Sagar Kalyan (UAE)

• Basil Hameed (UAE)

• Junaid Siddique (UAE)

• Mohammed Sohaib Khan (UAE)

• Muhammad Jawadullah (UAE)

• Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka)

• Chris Jordan (England)

• Chris Woakes (England)

• Jonny Bairstow (England)

• Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka)

• Tom Banton (England)

• Luke Wood (England)

• Alex Hales (England)

• Craig Overton (England)

• Lorcan Tucker (Ireland)

• James Rew (England)

• William Smeed (England)