MI Emirates have snapped up Afghanistan’s left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi for an impressive USD 380,000 in the ILT20 auction, toppling last year’s record set by Andre Fletcher. Farooqi’s notable ILT20 record includes being the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 64 wickets in 40 innings at an economy of 7.76.
Not to be left behind, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone secured a USD 350,000 bid from Gulf Giants, reuniting with coach Simon Helmot, whom he worked with at Sunrisers Hyderabad during the latest IPL season.
Pakistan’s premier batsman Babar Azam is poised to make his ILT20 debut with reigning champions Desert Vipers, joining fellow countrymen Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, and Naseem Shah. Each was acquired for a base price of USD 80,000.
A notable focus was also on Afghanistan’s talent, resulting in 25 players being picked across franchises. Rahmanullah Gurbaz saw competitive bids before being re-signed by Giants for USD 310,000 through the Right-to-Match mechanism. Highlighting the strategic importance of Afghan talent, each team is required to have a minimum of four players from the nation under the new assembly guidelines.
Moving to the Emirates, there is uncertainty around the availability of UAE players. Harpreet Singh, UAE’s T20I captain, went unsold, whereas Vriitya Aravind secured a USD 70,000 bid despite not featuring in the national squad recently. The scheduling of ILT20 overlapping with the 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifier playoffs adds to the complexity, as the UAE board’s request to shift the Qualifiers to January was declined by the ICC.
MI Emirates also utilised their Right-to-Match option to retain the explosive Muhammad Waseem for USD 210,000, while KS Bharat, a former Indian international and now part of the UAE setup, went unpicked.
Emerging talents set to turn heads include England’s Aneurin Donald, whose aggressive style earned him a place at Vipers, and Amshi de Silva, signed by ADKR, who praised Dwayne Bravo’s influence. “Bravo has been playing this game for a long time…more [knowledge] of tactics, more skills and more game awareness from him, which will be huge for my career,” de Silva told Cricinfo.
The auction witnessed new faces ready to make an impact in the upcoming ILT20 season, illustrating the fresh talent and high stakes involved in the tournament’s build-up.
