{"id":184336,"date":"2025-10-02T05:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T05:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/184336\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T05:48:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T05:48:08","slug":"andre-fletcher-becomes-the-most-expensive-player-at-ilt20-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/184336\/","title":{"rendered":"Andre Fletcher becomes the most expensive player at ILT20 auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dubai: In a historic first-ever DP World ILT20 Player Auction, West Indies power-hitter Andre Fletcher stole the spotlight, emerging as the most expensive player, securing a hefty $260,000 deal with MI Emirates. The franchise outbid stiff competition to bring Fletcher back for a fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n

Hot on his heels was England\u2019s young pacer Scott Currie, who fetched $250,000 from Dubai Capitals, highlighting the growing value of emerging talent. Among fast bowlers, England\u2019s Liam Dawson led the chart with a $170,000 deal with Gulf Giants, while Afghanistan\u2019s Naveen-ul-Haq joined Fletcher at MI Emirates for $100,000.<\/p>\n

UAE players shine<\/p>\n

It was a landmark day for UAE cricket, with several local players attracting major interest. Junaid Siddique became Sharjah Warriorz\u2019s most expensive signing at $170,000 via Right-to-Match. Fellow UAE pacer Muhammad Rohid also earned a six-figure sum, returning to MI Emirates for $140,000 (RTM) \u2014 a huge moment for the domestic cricket scene.<\/p>\n

Several standout performers from the ILT20 Development Tournament were rewarded with franchise contracts. Haider Razzaq, the tournament\u2019s top wicket-taker and a title-winner with Sharjah Warriorz Development, was picked by Gulf Giants for $50,000. Sanjay Pahal, Player of the Tournament, was retained by Desert Vipers for $10,000, while Raees Ahmed, among the top three run-scorers, went back to Sharjah Warriorz at his base price of $10,000.<\/p>\n

Bolstering line-up<\/p>\n

The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders went all out for Scotland\u2019s Brandon McMullen at $110,000, and bolstered their lineup with Michael Pepper, Unmukt Chand (both at $40,000), and George Garton ($10,000). Their Associate Nation picks included Kuwait\u2019s Adnan Idrees ($10,000) and UAE\u2019s Ibrar Ahmad ($22,000, RTM), Ajay Kumar, and Abdul Manan Ali (both $10,000).<\/p>\n

Desert Vipers made key acquisitions, snapping up Pakistan\u2019s Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah at their base price of $80,000 each. Afghanistan\u2019s Qais Ahmed ($40,000), Scotland\u2019s Tom Bruce ($80,000), and Pakistan\u2019s Hasan Nawaz ($40,000) also joined the Vipers. From the Associate Nations, they brought in UAE\u2019s Vriitya Aravind, Kuwait\u2019s Bilal Tahir, and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Faisal Khan\u2014the latter becoming the first-ever Saudi player signed at the ILT20 auction\u2014all at $10,000.<\/p>\n

Dubai Capitals, following their big splash for Currie, added experience with Afghanistan\u2019s Mohammad Nabi and England\u2019s Tymal Mills, both signed for $80,000. They rounded out their squad with UAE\u2019s Farhan Khan and Muhammad Farooq ($10,000 each), along with Kuwait\u2019s Anudeep Chenthamara and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Usman Najeeb.<\/p>\n

Squad complete<\/p>\n

The Gulf Giants became the first franchise to complete their squad, acquiring South Africa\u2019s Tabraiz Shamsi and Netherlands\u2019 Fred Klaassen for $40,000 each. England\u2019s Sean Dickson ($10,000), Chris Wood, and Ramon Simmonds ($40,000 each) added depth to their bowling unit. From the Associate pool, they signed Kuwait\u2019s Meet Bhavsar ($14,000) and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ishtiaq Ahmad ($16,000), with UAE\u2019s Asif Khan ($26,000) and Zuhaib Zubair ($10,000, RTM) further strengthening their local contingent.<\/p>\n

Alongside their headline signing of Fletcher, MI Emirates brought in Bangladesh\u2019s Shakib Al Hasan ($40,000) and England\u2019s Jordan Thompson ($48,000). They also tapped into the Associate Nations pool, signing USA\u2019s Nosthush Kenjige, UAE\u2019s Zahoor Khan, Kuwait\u2019s Mohammad Shafiq, and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Zain ul Abidin\u2014all at $10,000 each.<\/p>\n

Balanced squad<\/p>\n

Sharjah Warriorz made a statement by picking up South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius ($120,000) and England\u2019s Nathan Sowter ($100,000). They added Jayden Seales and Taskin Ahmed ($80,000 each) to bolster their pace attack. Local pacer Wasim Akram was acquired for $55,000, while Kuwait\u2019s Mohamed Nawfer and Mohammed Aslam ($14,000 each) joined a lineup also featuring UAE\u2019s Ethan D\u2019Souza, Zimbabwe\u2019s Richard Ngarava, and USA\u2019s Harmeet Singh ($10,000 each).<\/p>\n

The ILT20 Season 4 is set to begin on December 2 with the final on January 4, 2026. The tournament will feature six teams competing across 34 matches.<\/p>\n

Complete squad list <\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Total Spent: $1,457,000)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Michael Pepper ($40,000), George Garton ($10,000), Brandon McMullen ($110,000), Ibrar Ahmed ($22,000), Ajay Kumar ($10,000), Adnan Idrees Muhammad ($10,000), Abdul Manan Ali ($10,000), Mayank Chowdary ($10,000), Khary Pierre ($10,000), Shadley Van Schalkwyk ($10,000), Unmukt Chand ($40,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Liam Livingstone, Alishan Sharafu, Alex Hales, Sherfane Rutherford, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Phil Salt, Olly Stone <\/p>\n

Desert Vipers (Total Spent: $1,617,500)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Vriitya Aravind ($10,000), Fakhar Zaman ($80,000), Naseem Shah ($80,000), Qais Ahmad ($40,000), Sanjay Pahal ($10,000), Bilal Tahir ($10,000), Faisal Khan ($10,000), Hasan Nawaz ($40,000), Tom Bruce ($80,000), Matiullah Khan ($10,000), Tawanda Muyeye ($40,000), Faridoon Dawoodzai ($10,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Dan Lawrence, Max Holden, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sam Curran, Andries Gous <\/p>\n

Dubai Capitals (Total Spent: $1,475,000)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Muhammad Farooq ($10,000), Tymal Mills ($80,000), Scott Currie ($250,000), Mohammad Nabi ($80,000), Farhan Khan ($10,000), Anudeep Chenthamara ($10,000), Usman Najeeb ($10,000), Ritesh Mallikarjuna Grandhi ($10,000), Shayan Jahangir ($10,000), Rushil Ugarkar ($10,000), Naveen Bidiasee ($10,000), Toby Albert ($10,000), Akshay Wakhare ($10,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Jordan Matthew Cox, Rovman Powell, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Waqar Salamkheil, Haider Ali, Muhammad Jawadullah, Jimmy Neesham <\/p>\n

Gulf Giants (Total Spent: $1,471,000)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Asif Khan ($26,000), Zuhaib Zubair ($10,000), Sean Dickson ($10,000), Tabraiz Shamsi ($40,000), Liam Dawson ($170,000), Fred Klaassen ($40,000), Haider Razzaq ($50,000), Meet Bhavsar ($14,000), Ishtiaq Ahmad ($16,000), Lorcan Tucker ($10,000), Chris Wood ($40,000), Tom Moores ($40,000), Ramon Simmonds ($40,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Aayan Afzal Khan, Mark Adair, Gerhard Erasmus, Blessing Muzarabani, Moeen Ali, James Vince, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz <\/p>\n

MI Emirates (Total Spent: $1,868,000)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Muhammad Rohid ($140,000), Jordan Thompson ($48,000), Naveen-ul-Haq ($100,000), Andre Fletcher ($260,000), Nosthush Kenjige ($10,000), Mohamed Shafeeq ($10,000), Zain Ul Abidin ($10,000), Usman Khan ($10,000), Ackeem Auguste ($10,000), Arab Gul ($10,000), Tajinder Dhillon ($10,000), Zahoor Khan ($10,000), Shakib Al Hasan ($40,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Tom Banton, Romario Shepherd, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Muhammad Waseem, Kamindu Mendis <\/p>\n

Sharjah Warriorz (Total Spent: $1,664,000)<\/p>\n

Auction Signings: Junaid Siddique ($170,000), James Rew ($10,000), Nathan Sowter ($100,000), Dwaine Pretorius ($120,000), Jayden Seales ($80,000), Harmeet Singh ($10,000), Wasim Akram ($55,000), Mohamed Nawfer Mohamed Aslam ($14,000), Raees Ahmad ($10,000), Richard Ngarava ($10,000), Shubham Ranjane ($10,000), Ethan D\u2019Souza ($10,000), Taskin Ahmed ($80,000), Abdul Salman Khan ($10,000) <\/p>\n

Retentions + Direct Signings: Dinesh Karthik, Sikandar Raza, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tim David, Johnson Charles, Tim Southee, Saurabh Netravalkar <\/p>\n

\"Jai<\/a><\/p>\n

Jai is a seasoned journalist with more than two decades of experience across India and the UAE, specialising in sports reporting. Throughout his distinguished career, he has had the privilege of covering some of the biggest names and events in sports, including cricket, tennis, Formula 1 and golf. <\/p>\n

A former first-division cricket league captain himself, he brings not only a deep understanding of the game but also a cricketer’s discipline to his work. His unique blend of athletic insight and journalistic expertise gives him a wide-ranging perspective that enriches his storytelling, making his coverage both detailed and engaging. <\/p>\n

Driven by an unrelenting passion for sports, he continues to craft compelling narratives that resonate with readers. As the day winds down for most, he begins his work, ensuring that the most captivating stories make it to the print edition in time for readers to receive them bright and early the next morning. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dubai: In a historic first-ever DP World ILT20 Player Auction, West Indies power-hitter Andre Fletcher stole the spotlight,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,99830,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-184336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-ilt20","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}