MI Emirates paid USD 380,000 for Afghan left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi at the ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction held at the ICC Academy Indoors in Dubai on October 1, 2026, making him the priciest purchase in the league's auction history.
The previous benchmark of USD 260,000 had been set by Andre Fletcher, also at MI Emirates, during the Season 4 auction. Farooqi's fee represents a jump of USD 120,000 over that earlier mark, underlining how sharply demand for elite fast bowlers has risen in the competition.
What made the day particularly remarkable was that the record changed hands three times before the auction closed. Gulf Giants first secured Rahmanullah Gurbaz for USD 310,000 through the Right-to-Match card, then pushed further to acquire Liam Livingstone for USD 350,000 in open bidding. Farooqi's USD 380,000 hammer price then closed the day as the definitive high-water mark.
Who were the other big-money signings at the ILT20 Season 5 auction?
Several franchises spent heavily beyond the headline trio. Dubai Capitals brought in Faf du Plessis at USD 300,000, while Gulf Giants added Alzarri Joseph for USD 230,000. Richard Gleeson went to Sharjah Warriorz for USD 180,000, and Chris Jordan joined MI Emirates for USD 170,000.
MI Emirates also retained AM Ghazanfar via the Right-to-Match card for USD 150,000, and Mohammad Nabi signed with Sharjah Warriorz for USD 140,000. Lizaad Williams joined MI Emirates for USD 110,000, and Paul Walter signed with Sharjah Warriorz for the same fee.
Desert Vipers assembled a notable Pakistan-heavy group, picking up Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan each at the USD 80,000 base price. Babar will make his ILT20 debut with the franchise, while Naseem and Fakhar returned to the side. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders signed Moeen Ali for USD 80,000, Amshi De Silva for USD 100,000 and Alishan Sharafu for USD 110,000.
Among the remaining moves, Dasun Shanaka was retained by Dubai Capitals via Right-to-Match for USD 100,000, Max Holden joined Dubai Capitals for USD 100,000, Aayan Khan signed with Dubai Capitals for USD 95,000, and David Wiese went to Gulf Giants for USD 70,000. Brandon McMullen joined Sharjah Warriorz for USD 80,000.
What is the significance of Muhammad Waseem's retention at this auction?
MI Emirates used the Right-to-Match card to hold on to Muhammad Waseem at USD 210,000, a fee that established him as the highest-priced UAE player in ILT20 auction history.
The retention means MI Emirates now hold both the overall auction record through Farooqi and the UAE player record through Waseem, reflecting the franchise's aggressive strategy across the Season 5 auction.
Other associate-nation players also attracted competitive bids. Muhammad Rohid was signed by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for USD 95,000, and Hassan Khan moved to Dubai Capitals for USD 90,000. Arab Gul attracted a bid of USD 80,000 and Gulbadin Naib went for USD 75,000. Both players went to the Knight Riders respectively.
ILT20 2026 FULL SQUADS
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders — Total Spent: USD 1,549,000
Auction Signings: Alishan Sharafu (USD 110,000), Amshi De Silva (USD 100,000), Muhammad Rohid (USD 95,000), Moeen Ali (USD 80,000), Arab Gul (USD 80,000), Usman Tariq (USD 80,000), Gulbadin Naib (USD 75,000), Ibrar Ahmed (USD 46,000), Andre Fletcher (USD 40,000), Ajay Kumar (USD 40,000), Colin Munro (USD 40,000), Michael Pepper (USD 40,000), Qais Ahmad (USD 38,000), Jakeem Pollard (USD 10,000), Abdul Mannan Ali (USD 10,000), Ravija Sandaruwan (USD 10,000), Abdullah Tarakhail (USD 10,000), Lorcan Tucker (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Finn Allen, Jason Holder, Matthew Tromp, Sunil Narine
Desert Vipers — Total Spent: USD 1,544,000
Auction Signings: David Payne (USD 150,000), Fakhar Zaman (USD 80,000), Naseem Shah (USD 80,000), Babar Azam (USD 80,000), Shadab Khan (USD 80,000), Khuzaima Bin Tanveer (USD 75,000), Vriitya Aravind (USD 70,000), Aneurin Donald (USD 40,000), Abdullah Ahmadzai (USD 40,000), Joe Clarke (USD 40,000), Nangeyalia Kharote (USD 28,000), Sanjay Pahal (USD 22,000), Harry Tector (USD 12,000), Ishtiaq Ahmed (USD 12,000), Nilansh Keswani (USD 10,000), Saleem Safi (USD 10,000), Bilal Tahir (USD 10,000), Wali Muhammad (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Andries Gous, Dan Lawrence, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer
Dubai Capitals — Total Spent: USD 1,834,000
Auction Signings: Faf du Plessis (USD 300,000), Max Holden (USD 100,000), Dasun Shanaka (USD 100,000), Aayan Khan (USD 95,000), Hassan Khan (USD 90,000), Phil Salt (USD 80,000), Sediqullah Atal (USD 70,000), Mark Adair (USD 55,000), Karim Janat (USD 40,000), Luke Wood (USD 40,000), Tom Moores (USD 40,000), Haider Ali (USD 38,000), Zuhaib Zubair (USD 26,000), Darwish Rasooli (USD 10,000), Muhammad Arfan (USD 10,000), Matt Potts (USD 10,000), Usman Najeeb (USD 10,000), Anudeep Chenthamara (USD 10,000), Masood Ul Rahman Gurbaz – U19 (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Marcus Stoinis, Mustafizur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Rovman Powell
Gulf Giants — Total Spent: USD 1,972,000
Auction Signings: Liam Livingstone (USD 350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (USD 310,000), Alzarri Joseph (USD 230,000), Shamar Joseph (USD 80,000), David Wiese (USD 70,000), Ibrahim Zadran (USD 65,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (USD 40,000), Curtis Campher (USD 22,000), Dhruv Parashar (USD 10,000), Matiullah Khan (USD 10,000), Haider Razzaq (USD 10,000), Imran Mir (USD 10,000), Imtiaz Khan (USD 10,000), Meet Bhavsar (USD 10,000), Shubham Ranjane (USD 10,000), Wahidullah Zadran (USD 10,000), Awais Ahmed (USD 10,000), Sagar Kalyan (USD 10,000), Alick Athanaze (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen
MI Emirates — Total Spent: USD 2,000,000
Auction Signings: Fazalhaq Farooqi (USD 380,000), Muhammad Waseem (USD 210,000), Chris Jordan (USD 170,000), Allah Ghazanfar (USD 150,000), Lizaad Williams (USD 110,000), James Coles (USD 100,000), Jonny Bairstow (USD 80,000), Kusal Perera (USD 40,000), Jordan Thompson (USD 40,000), Zahoor Khan (USD 30,000), Wasim Akram (USD 10,000), Zain Ul Abidin (USD 10,000), Muhammad Shafeeq (USD 10,000), Asa Tribe (USD 10,000), Raizal Nadir Nather Shah (USD 10,000), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (USD 10,000), Faridoon Dawoodzai (USD 10,000), Ross Adair (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford
Sharjah Warriorz — Total Spent: USD 1,720,000
Auction Signings: Richard Gleeson (USD 180,000), Mohammad Nabi (USD 140,000), Paul Walter (USD 110,000), Adil Rashid (USD 80,000), Brandon McMullen (USD 80,000), Tom Banton (USD 80,000), Craig Overton (USD 80,000), George Linde (USD 40,000), Ali Aamer Naseer (USD 40,000), Fareed Malik (USD 40,000), Sharafuddin Ashraf (USD 40,000), Logan van Beek (USD 40,000), Junaid Siddique (USD 10,000), Tanish Suri (USD 10,000), Nabeel Aziz (USD 10,000), George Dockrell (USD 10,000), Mohammad Saqib (USD 10,000), Arunraj Selvaraj (USD 10,000), James Rew (USD 10,000)
Retentions & Direct Signings: Adam Milne, James Vince, Waqar Salamkheil, Sikandar Raza
