Fazalhaq Farooqi became the priciest buy in ILT20 auction history at USD 380,000 as the old record fell multiple times on auction day in Dubai. Liam Livingstone (USD 350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (USD 310,000) and Faf du Plessis (USD 300,000) also beat Andre Fletcher's USD 260,000 mark, while Babar Azam joined Desert Vipers at base price for his maiden ILT20 stint.
MI Emirates smashed the ILT20 auction record on Thursday, paying USD 380,000 for Afghanistan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi at the Season 5 player auction in Dubai. The bid blew past the previous high of USD 260,000, set by West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Andre Fletcher for MI Emirates in the 2025 auction, and it was not even the first record of the day: the old mark fell several times before Farooqi's hammer price closed the bidding as the definitive high-water mark.
| Biggest buys | |
|---|---|
| Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan) | USD 380,000, MI Emirates |
| Liam Livingstone (England) | USD 350,000, Gulf Giants |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) | USD 310,000, Gulf Giants (Right-to-Match) |
| Faf du Plessis (South Africa) | USD 300,000, Dubai Capitals |
| Muhammad Waseem (UAE) | USD 210,000, MI Emirates (RTM), highest-priced UAE player ever |
| Previous record | Andre Fletcher, USD 260,000 (2025, MI Emirates) |
Farooqi is the league's all-time leading wicket-taker, with 64 wickets in 40 innings at an economy rate of 7.76, and he has been with MI Emirates since the inaugural season. This will be his fifth straight campaign with the franchise. ESPNcricinfo reports that the new auction rules required every franchise to carry at least four players from Afghanistan, and the six teams picked 25 Afghanistan players in total. Fletcher, meanwhile, took a hefty pay cut this time around and moved to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for USD 40,000.
Babar heads Vipers' Pakistan quartet
Babar Azam is set for his maiden ILT20 stint after defending champions Desert Vipers picked him at his USD 80,000 base price. He joins Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah at the Vipers, with all four Pakistan players going for USD 80,000 each. ESPNcricinfo reports there were no competing bids from the other five franchises, and that those five (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals, Sharjah Warriorz, Gulf Giants and MI Emirates) have Indian owners and have ignored Pakistan talent across the past two auctions. Fakhar and Naseem have worn Vipers colours before; Babar is the debutant.
Elsewhere, MI Emirates used their Right-to-Match option to bring back AM Ghazanfar for USD 150,000 to pair with Rashid Khan, while Sharjah Warriorz spent USD 140,000 on 41-year-old Mohammad Nabi. There were no bids for former India keeper KS Bharat, registered as a UAE local. The Season 5 tournament runs from November 21 to December 20 in the UAE, overlapping with the 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifier playoffs (December 1 to 22, venue yet to be confirmed by the ICC).
Build an auction-winning XI
Auctions are won before a ball is bowled: MI Emirates read the room and paid top dollar for a proven match-winner. In BuildXI you spin eleven real IPL squads from 2008 to 2025, take one player from each, and play a full season with the side you end up with. The target is 14-0: fourteen league games, fourteen wins.