Dubai, Oct 1, 2025: West Indies’ Andre Fletcher capped a day of high-stakes drama at the first-ever DP World ILT20 Player Auction, emerging as the most expensive player with a whopping price tag of USD 260,000. MI Emirates outbid rivals to secure the explosive batter for a fourth consecutive season with the franchise. Close behind was England’s Scott Currie, snapped up by Dubai Capitals for USD 250,000. England’s Liam Dawson led the pack amongst the pacers acquired for USD 170,000 by Gulf Giants while Naveen-ul-Haq was acquired for USD 100,000 by the MI Emirates.

UAE pacers were the flavour of the auction, with Junaid Siddique going to Sharjah Warriorz for USD 170,000 (Right-to-Match), making him their most expensive buy. Muhammad Rohid, also drew a six-figure deal, going to MI Emirates for USD 140,000 (Right-to-Match), marking a massive milestone for UAE cricket.

Notably some of the standout performers from the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament also converted their success into franchise deals at the auction. UAE pacer Haider Razzaq, the leading wicket-taker in Sharjah Warriorz Development’s title-winning campaign earlier this year, was purchased by Gulf Giants for USD 50,000. Player of the Tournament, Sanjay Pahal, an all-rounder who impressed throughout, was retained by Desert Vipers for USD 10,000. Raees Ahmed, who was amongst the top three run-getters, went back to Sharjah Warriorz at his base price of USD 10,000.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders eagerly pursued Scotland’s Brandon McMullen for USD 110,000, while also picking up Michael Pepper and Unmukt Chand at their base price of USD 40,000, along with England’s George Garton for USD 10,000. Their Associate Nation pool was reinforced by Kuwait’s Adnan Idrees (USD 10,000), while the UAE core featured Ibrar Ahmad (USD 22,000, RTM), Ajay Kumar (USD 10,000) and Abdul Manan Ali (USD 10,000).

Desert Vipers acquired Pakistan stars Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah at their base price of USD 80,000 apiece, along with Afghanistan leggie Qais Ahmed (USD 40,000). They also secured Scotland’s Tom Bruce for USD 80,000 and brought in Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz at USD 40,000. Their Associate signings saw UAE keeper Vriitya Aravind (USD 10,000) join Bilal Tahir (USD 10,000), while Faisal Khan made history as the first Saudi Arabian player bought at the auction, picked up at his base price of USD 10,000.

Dubai Capitals followed their big splash for the young Currie by opting for experience. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and England’s Tymal Mills were among their headline overseas pick at USD 80,000, while UAE’s Farhan Khan and Muhammad Farooq were secured for USD 10,000 each. To round out their haul, they added Kuwait’s Anudeep Chenthamara (USD 10,000) and Saudi Arabia’s Usman Najeeb (USD 10,000).

Gulf Giants spread their net wide and became the first team to complete their squad. The Giants snapped up South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi and Netherlands’ pacer Fred Klaassen for USD 40,000 each along with England’s Sean Dickson, landed at USD 10,000. The franchise also strengthened their bowling department through England’s Chris Wood and West Indies’ Ramon Simmonds with both pacers also coming in at USD 40,000 each. Their Associate Nation haul included Kuwait’s Meet Bhavsar (USD 14,000) and Saudi Arabia’s Ishtiaq Ahmad (USD 16,000), with UAE’s Asif Khan (USD 26,000) and Zuhaib Zubair ‘s USD 10,000 Right-to-Match adding to their UAE core.

MI Emirates, alongside their record signing of Fletcher, added Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hassan for USD 40,000 and England all-rounder Jordan Thompson for USD 48,000. They further diversified with Associate Nations players such as USA’s Nosthush Kenjige, UAE’s Zahoor Khan, Kuwait’s Mohammad Shafiq and Saudi Arabia’s Zain ul Abidin, all at USD 10,000.

Sharjah Warriorz roped in South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius at USD 120,000 and English leg-spinner Nathan Sowter for USD 100,000. They also locked in pacers Jayden Seales and Taskin Ahmed at USD 80,000 each. The Warriorz spent big on UAE’ s Wasim Akram, bagging the pacer for USD 55,000. Kuwait’s Mohamed Nawfer and Mohammed Aslam were picked up for USD 14,000 each while UAE’s Ethan D’Souza, Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava and USA’s Harmeet Singh also made their way to the Warriorz for USD 10,000.

The DP World ILT20 Season 4 will begin on Tuesday, 2 December - UAE National Day (Eid-Al-Etihad), with the six-team, 34-match tournament set to conclude with the final on Sunday, 4 January 2026.

Complete Squad List

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Total Spent: USD 1,457,000)

Auction Signings: Michael Pepper (USD 40,000), George Garton (USD 10,000), Brandon McMullen (USD 110,000), Ibrar Ahmed (USD 22,000), Ajay Kumar (USD 10,000), Adnan Idrees Muhammad (USD 10,000), Abdul Manan Ali (USD 10,000), Mayank Chowdary (USD 10,000), Khary Pierre (USD 10,000), Shadley Van Schalkwyk (USD 10,000), Unmukt Chand (USD 40,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Liam Livingstone, Alishan Sharafu, Alex Hales, Sherfane Rutherford, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Phil Salt, Olly Stone

Desert Vipers (Total Spent: USD 1,617,500)

Auction Signings: Vriitya Aravind (USD 10,000), Fakhar Zaman (USD 80,000), Naseem Shah (USD 80,000), Qais Ahmad (USD 40,000), Sanjay Pahal (USD 10,000), Bilal Tahir (USD 10,000), Faisal Khan (USD 10,000), Hasan Nawaz (USD 40,000), Tom Bruce (USD 80,000), Matiullah Khan (USD 10,000), Tawanda Muyeye (USD 40,000), Faridoon Dawoodzai (USD 10,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Dan Lawrence, Max Holden, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sam Curran, Andries Gous

Dubai Capitals (Total Spent: USD 1,475,000)

Auction Signings: Muhammad Farooq (USD 10,000), Tymal Mills (USD 80,000), Scott Currie (USD 250,000), Mohammad Nabi (USD 80,000), Farhan Khan (USD 10,000), Anudeep Chenthamara (USD 10,000), Usman Najeeb (USD 10,000), Ritesh Mallikarjuna Grandhi (USD 10,000), Shayan Jahangir (USD 10,000), Rushil Ugarkar (USD 10,000), Naveen Bidiasee (USD 10,000), Toby Albert (USD 10,000), Akshay Wakhare (USD 10,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Jordan Matthew Cox, Rovman Powell, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Waqar Salamkheil, Haider Ali, Muhammad Jawadullah, Jimmy Neesham

Gulf Giants (Total Spent: USD 1,471,000)

Auction Signings: Asif Khan (USD 26,000), Zuhaib Zubair (USD 10,000), Sean Dickson (USD 10,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (USD 40,000), Liam Dawson (USD 170,000), Fred Klaassen (USD 40,000), Haider Razzaq (USD 50,000), Meet Bhavsar (USD 14,000), Ishtiaq Ahmad (USD 16,000), Lorcan Tucker (USD 10,000), Chris Wood (USD 40,000), Tom Moores (USD 40,000), Ramon Simmonds (USD 40,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Aayan Afzal Khan, Mark Adair, Gerhard Erasmus, Blessing Muzarabani, Moeen Ali, James Vince, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

MI Emirates (Total Spent: USD 1,868,000)

Auction Signings: Muhammad Rohid (USD 140,000), Jordan Thompson (USD 48,000), Naveen-ul-Haq (USD 100,000), Andre Fletcher (USD 260,000), Nosthush Kenjige (USD 10,000), Mohamed Shafeeq (USD 10,000), Zain Ul Abidin (USD 10,000), Usman Khan (USD 10,000), Ackeem Auguste (USD 10,000), Arab Gul (USD 10,000), Tajinder Dhillon (USD 10,000), Zahoor Khan (USD 10,000), Shakib Al Hasan (USD 40,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Tom Banton, Romario Shepherd, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Muhammad Waseem, Kamindu Mendis

Sharjah Warriorz (Total Spent: USD 1,664,000)

Auction Signings: Junaid Siddique (USD 170,000), James Rew (USD 10,000), Nathan Sowter (USD 100,000), Dwaine Pretorius (USD 120,000), Jayden Seales (USD 80,000), Harmeet Singh (USD 10,000), Wasim Akram (USD 55,000), Mohamed Nawfer Mohamed Aslam (USD 14,000), Raees Ahmad (USD 10,000), Richard Ngarava (USD 10,000), Shubham Ranjane (USD 10,000), Ethan D’Souza (USD 10,000), Taskin Ahmed (USD 80,000), Abdul Salman Khan (USD 10,000)

Retentions + Direct Signings: Dinesh Karthik, Sikandar Raza, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tim David, Johnson Charles, Tim Southee, Saurabh Netravalkar