Pakistan Stars Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman Secure Bargain Deals at ILT20 Auction Amid Massive Spending

Leading players from around the world enjoyed bumper pay days at the DP World International League T20 auction in Dubai. However, Pakistan’s top stars were recruited at bargain basement prices as they continue to be overlooked by Indian franchise owners.

Babar Azam, who has scored more T20 international runs than anyone in history and was one of the best-known players in the auction, was purchased for his base rate of $80,000 by Desert Vipers, facing no competing bids. The Vipers, owned by American businessman Avram Glazer, also brought back fellow Pakistanis Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, and Naseem Shah for their base prices.

While these pay days represent healthy salaries for a month of cricket, they paled in comparison to bids made for players from elsewhere. Fazalhaq Farooqi from Afghanistan earned the biggest payday in the short history of the competition so far, going to MI Emirates for $380,000. Within a dizzying few minutes, England’s Liam Livingstone fetched $350,000, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz went for $310,000, and $300,000 was spent on Faf du Plessis, the former South Africa captain.

A number of UAE players also earned substantially more than the Pakistan players. Muhammad Waseem, the leading local player in each of the first four seasons of the competition, landed a massive bid worth $210,000. This smashed the record for a UAE player, set a season earlier when fast bowler Junaid Siddique joined Sharjah Warriorz for $170,000. Alishan Sharafu went for $110,000, while Aayan Khan and Mohammed Rohid each landed bids of $95,000.

This trend mirrors last year's inaugural auction for the UAE’s T20 franchise tournament, where the Vipers swept up a number of Pakistan internationals for their base rates as Indian owners of the other five teams ignored them. This proved to be a significant advantage, with the Pakistani players forming the nucleus of the side that won the title for the first time last season.

“We're delighted with the picks we've secured, including from a continuity perspective,” said Phil Oliver, the chief executive of the Vipers. “To have Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah back is very exciting for us to add back to the squad from the team that won it last year. To add Babar in is very exciting. He is a very high-quality player who we know well. He knows the UAE well, and he's an excellent pick up at the top of the order. We can't wait to welcome him to the Desert Vipers family.”

With franchises able to sign just four players each before the auction, their fortunes in the new campaign will likely be hugely dependent on events at the ICC Academy on Thursday. Thanks to the right-to-match feature, teams could retain previous players by matching bids, allowing figures like Fakhar, Naseem, Khuzaima Tanveer, Vriitya Aravind, David Payne, and Sanjay Pahal to return to the Vipers.

“When we see the quality of players that have been assembled, I think it's shaping up to be the most competitive tournament from a player quality perspective,” Oliver added. “All the six teams look very strong. It's a testament to the strength of the league and what has been built here over the four seasons to date. It's going to be the most competitive league so far. We're going to have our work cut out to defend our title because there's a lot of exciting, high-quality players from all around the world. It really is a global league, that's got some of the best talent from every corner of the world, so we look forward to get going in November.”