RAVICHANDRAN Ashwin, Jason Roy, Fakhar Zaman and Shakib Al Hasan will be among the top international names to go under the hammer at the DP World ILT20 Season 4 Player Auction on Wednesday (October 1).
The first-ever auction in the league’s history will feature close to 300 players from more than 20 countries, combining marquee internationals and exciting upcoming talent along with regional players from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Apart from Ashwin, four other Indians, Ankit Rajput, Priyank Panchal, Siddarth Kaul and Piyush Chawla have registered for the auction.
Players have been grouped into price slabs of USD 120,000, 80,000, 40,000, and 10,000. The USD 120,000 category features Ashwin, as he gears up for his first foray into global franchise cricket since his retirement. Cricbuzz was first to report that Ashwin had registered for the ILT20 auction.
The USD 80,000 bracket will feature the likes of England’s Jason Roy, Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub, and West Indies’ Andre Fletcher. The all-round options include Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Karim Janat, along with Pakistan’s Muhammad Nawaz. Pakistan’s pace spearhead Naseem Shah and Faheem Ashraf, and Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq add further firepower to this group.
The USD 40,000 category is also laden with proven performers. Bangladesh’s Shakib leads the group as one of the most seasoned players. He is joined by England’s James Anderson, with both stalwarts bringing vast experience and proven quality to the pool. Australia’s Andrew Tye and Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran bring further depth, while USA’s Unmukt Chand, Netherlands’ Logan Van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe stand out among the Associate Nation players in the pool.
Eyes will be on the USD 10,000 category as well. It includes South Africa’s Temba Bavuma, Irish veteran Paul Stirling, India’s Kaul and Panchal, Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee. Namibia’s JJ Smit, Scotland’s Brandon McMullen and Canada’s Kaleem Sana add further strength from the Associate Nations. All UAE players also feature at this base price, including Junaid Siddique, Vriitya Aravind, Aryan Lakra, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Zuhaib Zubair, Zahoor Khan, Dhruv Parashar, and Rahul Chopra.
Many of the format’s most recognisable performers are already locked in with their franchises. Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Andre Russell (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Phil Salt (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Tim Southee (Sharjah Warriorz), Dinesh Karthik (Sharjah Warriorz), Tim David (Sharjah Warriorz), Fazalhaq Farooqi (MI Emirates), Muhammad Waseem (MI Emirates), Romario Shepherd (MI Emirates), Gulbadin Naib (Dubai Capitals), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), Moeen Ali (Gulf Giants), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Gulf Giants), Wanindu Hasaranga (Desert Vipers), Shimron Hetmyer (Desert Vipers) are among the stars set to feature in Season 4, ensuring that the tournament once again boasts a strong line-up of global talent.
Each franchise will enter the auction with a purse of USD 800,000 plus any remaining amount from the USD 1.2 million allocated earlier for direct signings and retentions. Dubai Capitals and Gulf Giants enter the auction with the largest purses at USD 1,035,000 each. Sharjah Warriorz have USD 1,025,000, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders follow with USD 925,000, Desert Vipers with USD 802,500, and MI Emirates have USD 800,000 to spend.
At the end of the auction, each squad will be required to feature a minimum of 19 and up to a maximum of 21 players, split as a minimum of 11 from Full Member nations, four from the UAE including one u-23 UAE Player, one from Kuwait, one from Saudi Arabia, and two from other ICC Associate Nations.
Franchises must spend at least USD 1.5 million and no more than USD 2 million, with the option of signing up to two Wildcard players outside the auction for an additional USD 250,000.