PROVINCE REPORT
DUBAI: The DP World International League T20 (ILT20) Season 5 Player Auction will be held on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at the ICC Academy indoor facility in Dubai, with all six franchises set to complete their squads for the upcoming season.
The auction follows the pre-auction signings announced in August and will determine the remaining composition of the six teams ahead of Season 5.
Auction Purse and Squad Requirements
Each franchise will have a purse of USD 1.3 million for the auction, in addition to any unutilised amount from the USD 700,000 available for direct signings and retentions. The remaining balance available to each franchise will be announced before the auction.
At the conclusion of the auction, every franchise must have spent a minimum of USD 1.5 million and a maximum of USD 2 million, excluding a Wildcard player who may be added after the auction.
Each squad must comprise between 18 and 23 players. The composition must include at least 11 players from ICC Full Member countries, including a minimum of four players from Afghanistan and at least one from Ireland.
Teams must also include at least four UAE players, one player from Kuwait, one from Saudi Arabia and at least one additional player from an ICC Associate Member country, excluding the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Player Registration and Base Prices
Player registration for the Season 5 auction took place between July and September, with the registration deadline set for September 12.
The minimum base price for all players is USD 10,000, while players may also nominate base prices of USD 40,000 or USD 80,000.
Players from ICC Full Member countries and Associate Member countries, excluding the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, were eligible to select their base price from the three available levels.
Players from Afghanistan and Ireland were subject to additional requirements for the higher base prices. To set a base price of USD 40,000, a player must have been capped at international level and/or previously played in the DP World ILT20.
For an USD 80,000 base price, Afghan and Irish players must have earned at least 100 international caps, which may be accumulated across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
All players from the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will have a base price of USD 10,000.
Auction Process
Players will be grouped into sets according to their playing status and specialisation, including capped UAE players, Full Member players, Associate players, uncapped UAE players, Kuwait players and Saudi Arabia players, as well as categories such as batters, bowlers, all-rounders and wicketkeepers.
Each set will contain between six and 10 players. Players will be drawn randomly within their respective sets before the auctioneer announces the player’s name and base price.
Bidding will then continue until no further bids are made. The player’s base price and live bidding will be displayed on screens throughout the auction.
Once a player receives an opening bid, subsequent bids will increase in increments of USD 2,000 for bids between USD 10,000 and USD 50,000, USD 5,000 for bids between USD 50,000 and USD 100,000, and USD 10,000 for bids of USD 100,000 and above.
Following the completion of the Full Member, Associate Member, UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia sets, franchises that still have room in their squads may request up to eight players from the Accelerated Set to enter the auction.
The auction will conclude once all six franchises have met the minimum spending requirement of USD 1.5 million, fulfilled their mandatory player quotas and either do not wish or are unable to sign additional players.
Four Rights to Match for Each Franchise
Each franchise will have four optional Rights to Match available during the auction.
These include one Right to Match for a Full Member player who represented the franchise in Season 4, including players from Afghanistan and Ireland.
A second Right to Match will be available for an Associate Member player who played for the franchise in Season 4.
The third will cover a UAE player who represented the franchise in Season 4 or was part of its Development Squad during the 2026 ILT20 Development Tournament.
The fourth Right to Match will apply to a Kuwait or Saudi Arabia player who represented the franchise in Season 4.
The use of these Rights to Match will be optional and not mandatory.
Replacement Player Rules
Players who suffer injuries, receive international call-ups or fail to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) may be replaced at any time until the conclusion of the league phase of DP World ILT20 Season 5.
Once the tournament support period begins, replacement player approvals will be subject to the ILT20 Technical Committee.
Replacements for mandatory player categories — including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Ireland players — must come from the pool of players who registered for the auction.
Replacement players from other countries, however, do not necessarily have to have registered for the auction.
With all six franchises required to meet specific spending and squad-composition criteria, the October 1 auction will play a key role in shaping the final squads for the fifth season of the DP World ILT20.
