"VAN" (Sports Desk - 02.10.2025) :: 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.
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