Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi became the most expensive player in International League T20 (ILT20) Player Auction history after being bought by MI Emirates for USD 380,000 on Thursday.Farooqi will join MI Emirates for a fifth consecutive season. His deal broke the auction record for the third time during the day.Liam Livingstone had earlier set a new record when Gulf Giants bought him for USD 350,000. Before Livingstone, Gulf Giants had used their Right-to-Match option to retain Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for USD 310,000, making him the most expensive player in ILT20 auction history at that point.Before Gurbaz, Faf du Plessis held the record after joining Dubai Capitals for USD 300,000.Babar Azam was bought by Desert Vipers for his base price of USD 80,000. It will be his first season in the ILT20.
Moreover, West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph was also snapped by Gulf Giants for $230,000. Allah Ghazanfar was another notable signing, joining for USD 150,000, while Mohammad Nabi was bought for USD 140,000 and Dasun Shanaka for USD 100,000.The Season 5 Player Auction was held in Dubai on Thursday, October 1, with more than 200 players from 23 countries in the auction pool. The list included Babar Azam, Phil Salt, Tom Banton, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wanindu Hasaranga, Alzarri Joseph, Faf du Plessis and Liam Livingstone.The six franchises entered the auction with purses ranging from $1.3 million to $1.39 million and built squads of between 18 and 23 players. Each franchise had a purse of $1.3 million, in addition to any unutilised funds from the USD 700,000 available for direct signings and retentions.
