logo
Cricket trophy displayed at promotional event
Amir Azimi
Cricket

ILT20 Season 5 Auction Details: Key Insights and Rules

The ILT20 auction is heading back to Dubai, and this time the stakes feel bigger than ever.

Season 5’s player auction will take place on October 1 at the ICC Academy indoor facility, with organisers confirming the date after some early confusion around the schedule. Any doubt is gone now. Six franchises, one room, and a player pool that stretches across the cricketing map.

More than 800 players from 20 countries have thrown their names in. Only around 200 will make the final shortlist. The trimming has already begun.

Big purses, tight limits

Each franchise walks into the auction with a fresh purse of USD 1,300,000, sitting alongside whatever remains from the USD 700,000 they were allowed to use on direct signings and retentions.

There is no room for hoarding. By the time the hammer falls on the final lot, every team must have spent at least USD 1.5 million and no more than USD 2 million on their squad, with one important caveat: a Wildcard player can still be added after the auction and does not count within that band.

The numbers are clear. The decisions will not be.

Building a squad, not just a list

ILT20 is leaning hard into its identity as a blend of elite talent and emerging markets, and the squad rules make that obvious.

Each franchise must assemble a group of at least 18 and no more than 23 players. Inside that, the composition is heavily regulated:

  • Minimum 11 players from ICC Full Member countries
    • At least four of those must be from Afghanistan
    • At least one must be from Ireland
  • Minimum four players from the UAE
  • Minimum one player from Kuwait
  • Minimum one player from Saudi Arabia
  • At least one more player from ICC Associate nations, excluding the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

The message is blunt: this is not just a star-hunting exercise. It is a structural push to keep Afghanistan central, to keep Ireland involved, and to ensure the Gulf’s emerging cricketers are not just spectators.

Base prices and the race for value

The auction will not feature the wild, top-heavy base price tiers seen in some other leagues. Here, the floor is set and the ceiling is modest.

Every registered player comes in with a minimum base price of USD 10,000. Some have opted for higher brackets of USD 40,000 or USD 80,000, but nothing beyond that. The room will decide who explodes past those figures.

Registrations ran from July through September 12, locking in a pool that now sits in the hands of the shortlisters and analysts.

Four lifelines: the Right to Match cards

The tension in any auction spikes when a familiar name comes up, and ILT20 has built that drama into its rules.

Each franchise has four Rights to Match (RTM) to use during the auction. They function as lifelines to keep key pieces from Season 4:

  • One RTM for a Full Member player (including Afghanistan and Ireland) who played for that franchise in Season 4
  • One RTM for an Associate Member player who played for that franchise in Season 4
  • One RTM for a UAE player who either played for that franchise in Season 4 or was part of its Development Squad in the 2026 ILT20 Development Tournament
  • One RTM for a Kuwait or Saudi player who played for that franchise in Season 4

Once a rival franchise wins the bidding for one of these players, the original team can step in, match the final price, and bring him back. Used well, these four cards can preserve a core. Used poorly, they vanish in a flash on emotion rather than strategy.

Replacements and the long season ahead

Modern T20 leagues live with constant disruption: injuries, late NOCs, sudden international call-ups. ILT20 has tried to stay nimble.

If a player is injured, called up by his national side, or fails to secure an NOC, he can be replaced at any time up to the end of the league phase of Season 5. Once the tournament support period kicks in, every replacement needs the green light from the ILT20 Technical Committee.

There is one crucial restriction. Mandatory-category players — those from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan or Ireland — must be replaced from within the original auction registration pool. For players from other nations, teams are free to look beyond that list.

So the franchises will not just be buying for opening night. They will be buying with contingency in mind, knowing that depth and flexibility can decide a season as surely as any marquee signing.

On October 1 in Dubai, the chequebooks, spreadsheets and scouting reports all collide. By the end of the day, six squads will be sketched out, identities taking shape, gaps still to be filled. The question is simple: who reads the room best and builds a squad that can survive not just the auction, but the long grind of Season 5?

Related Articles