The DP World ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction will be held in Dubai on Thursday, 1 October 2026, at the ICC Academy indoors facility. The auction will bring together all six franchises as they look to complete their squads for the upcoming season, following their Pre-Auction Signings that were announced in August.

The Auction rules, purse, and mechanics are explained below.

Auction rules

• Each franchise will have a purse of USD 1,300,000 to spend at the auction plus whatever spend remains unutilised from the USD 700,000 that was available for direct signings and retentions (remaining balance for each franchise will be announced before the DP World ILT20 Player Auction).
• At the end of the auction, each franchise must have spent a minimum of $1.5m and a maximum of $2m (excluding a Wildcard player that may be added after the auction).
• At the end of the auction, each franchise must have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players. Within this there must be a minimum of 11 players from ICC Full Member countries (at least four of which must be from Afghanistan and at least one of which must be from Ireland), a minimum of four players from the UAE, a minimum of one player from Kuwait, a minimum of one player from Saudi Arabia and at least one further player from ICC Associate countries (excluding the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia).

Player registration

• The minimum base price for all players is USD 10,000. Players may also have a base price of USD 40,000 or USD 80,000.
• The DP World ILT20 player registrations were completed between July and September – deadline September 12.
• Full member players and associate players (excluding UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) had the option to set their own base price for the auction as per the following levels:
  • USD $10,000
  • USD $40,000
  • USD $80,000
• Players from Afghanistan and Ireland had the option to set their base prices at the above levels, with the following provisos:
  • To have a base price of USD $40,000, they must have been capped at international level and/or have played in DP World ILT20 previously.
  • To have a base price of USD $80,000 they must have been capped 100 or more times at international level (may be cumulative across Tests, ODI and IT20).
• All UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia players have a base price of USD $10,000.
• If a player is injured, receives an international call up or does not receive an NOC, they may be replaced at any time until the end of the league phase of DP World ILT20 Season 5. Replacement players do not need to have been featured in the player auction. No additional players will be added after the auction and the Wildcard player, only replacements may be added to the squad.

Auction mechanics

• Players will be allocated sets on account of status (i.e. Capped UAE player/Full Member/Associate player/Uncapped UAE Player/Kuwait player/Saudi Arabia player) and specialisation (batsman, bowler, all-rounder, wicketkeeper etc).
• Each set will include six to ten players.
• Within the sets, players will be drawn at random, and the auctioneer will read out the player’s name and his base price. The auctioneer will then invite bids until there are no further bids.
• The base price of the player will be visible on screens during the auction, with the bidding shown in real time.  
• Once a player has received his first bid in the auction, bids will be raised in the following increments:
  • 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;
  • USD $10,000 for bids of USD $100,000 and above.
• Following the conclusion of all sets (Full member, Associate Member, UAE Players, Kuwait players and Saudi Arabia players), if franchises still have room in their squad, they may request up to eight players from the Accelerated Set to be put forward into the auction.
• Once all Franchises have spent their minimum total spend ($1.5m per team) and have fulfilled their minimum quotas of each type of player, they will be asked if they wish to end the auction. Once all six Franchises have fulfilled their minimum requirements and are either unable or do not wish to sign any more players, the auction will be declared finished by the auctioneer.

Player Right to Match

• Franchises will each have four Rights to Match to use during the auction:
  • One for a Full member player that played for that Franchise in Season 4 (including Afghanistan and Ireland)
  • One for an Associate member player that played for that Franchise in Season 4
  • One for a UAE player that played for that Franchise in Season 4, or was part of their Development Squad in the 2026 ILT20 Development Tournament
  • One for a Kuwait or Saudi player that played for that Franchise in Season 4
• All of these Rights to Match are optional and not obligatory.

Replacement players

• If a player is injured, receives an international call-up or does not receive an NOC, they may be replaced at any time until the end of the league phase of DP World ILT20 Season 5. Once the tournament support period has commenced, approvals for replacement players must be granted by the ILT20 Technical Committee.
• Replacement of mandatory players (i.e. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait. Afghanistan or Ireland) must come from the pool of players that registered for the auction. Replacement players from other nations do not have to have registered in the auction.

Abu Dhabi T10 has appointed Apex Sports Consulting as its official partner for global broadcast rights distribution.

Apex Sports Consulting is a UAE-based sports advisory firm with a proven track record of delivering landmark media rights deals across cricket and global sport.

Under this mandate, Apex Sports will lead Abu Dhabi T10’s global broadcast distribution strategy across television and digital platforms. The focus is on expanding the tournament’s reach to more screens in more markets, growing its international audience, and building a stronger commercial foundation for the next phase of Abu Dhabi T10’s growth.

Matt Boucher, CEO of Abu Dhabi Sports Hub, said: “Apex Sports understands both the cricket market and the broadcast business. We are thrilled to have them alongside us as we take Abu Dhabi T10 to an even wider global audience.”

Imran Khan, CEO of Apex Sports Consulting, said: “Abu Dhabi T10 is a property with real momentum. We look forward to working with Matt and the Abu Dhabi Sports Hub team to build the right distribution partnerships for this next chapter.”

Muhammad Waseem’s explosive 89, Falak Noor’s sensational six-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, and Sagar Kalyan’s match-winning 80 headlined an action-packed round of the fourth edition of the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament, with MI Emirates Development, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development, Dubai Capitals Development and Gulf Giants Development all securing victories at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

With all teams having played four fixtures each, Gulf Giants Development lead the points table with six points. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development, Sharjah Warriorz Development, Dubai Capitals Development and Desert Vipers Development are all level on four points, while MI Emirates Development have two points.

On Sunday evening, Muhammad Waseem’s blistering 89 off 48 set up MI Emirates Development for a 32-run win over Sharjah Warriorz Development.

Waseem smashed seven fours and five sixes as MI Emirates posted 177 before being bowled out in 19.5 overs, with Zahoor Khan also adding a rapid 22 off nine. Hafiz Almas Ayub was the pick of the Warriorz bowlers with 3/28, while Shahid Iqbal and Junaid Siddique claimed two wickets apiece.

In reply, Harpreet Bhatia top-scored with 51 off 42 and Luqman Faisal struck 38 off 20, but Ibrahim Masood (3/32), Vishnu Sukumaran (2/7), Zahoor Khan (2/13) and Muhammad Rohid Khan (2/25) helped MI Emirates total stay out of reach. The Warriorz were eventually bowled out for 145 in 17.3 overs.

In Sunday’s first fixture, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development were powered by a sensational six-wicket haul from Falak Noor as they defeated Desert Vipers Development by 88 runs

After Knight Riders Development posted 196/8, Falak Noor ripped through the Vipers batting line-up, claiming 6/15, including a hat-trick in the 14th over, as Desert Vipers Development were bowled out for 108 in 15.5 overs. Nilansh Keswani top-scored with 35 off 23, while Harshit Kaushik struck 18 off eight.

Earlier, Usaid Amin (41 off 33) and Muhammad Aftab Alam (30 off 25) led the Knight Riders Development batting effort, while Alishan Sharafu smashed 16 off four balls. Muhammad Uzair Khan finished unbeaten on 20 off 10 as they posted 196/8. Wali Muhammad Afridi (2/31), Khuzaima Tanveer (2/37) and Sanjay Pahal (2/53) were the pick of the Vipers attack.

On Saturday evening, Dubai Capitals Development beat Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development by three wickets

Knight Riders Development were bowled out for 123 in 17.1 overs, with Uzair Haider Maan top-scoring with 40 off 27, including three sixes. Tahir Zaman led the Capitals attack with an impressive 4/16, while Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Saghir Khan claimed two wickets each.

In reply, Raees Ahmed anchored the chase with an unbeaten 44 off 45, while Akshdeep Nath provided a quickfire 22 off nine, including three fours and a six. Muhammad Saghir Khan added an unbeaten 21 off 15 as the Capitals reached 125/7 in 19 overs

Earlier in the day, Sharjah Warriorz Development endured their first defeat of the season, falling to Gulf Giants Development by 21 runs.

Tanish Suri (21 off 8) set the tone for the Giants’ innings before they lost four wickets inside the powerplay. Sagar Kalyan’s (80 off 33) dominant innings then ensured the Giants posted a formidable 203/10. Kalyan smashed eight fours and five sixes, while Junaid Shamsu (30 off 19), Zuhaib Zubair (27 off 21) and Haider Razzaq (15 off 7) made important contributions.

Hafiz Almas Ayub was the pick of the Warriorz attack with figures of 3/38.

In reply, Luqman Faisal (51 off 30) extended his fine form for the Warriorz with a half-century at the top of the order. Mohit Kalyan (46 off 29) also kept the Warriorz in the fight along with a late flourish from Dhruv Parashar (27* off 13) but potent spells from Mohammed Irshad (3/44), Awais Ahmed (2/29) and Zuhaib Zubair (2/38) were enough to restrict the innings to 182/8.

Brief Scores

MI Emirates Development defeated Sharjah Warriorz Development by 32 runs
MI Emirates Development 177/10 in 19.5 overs (Muhammad Waseem 89, Zahoor Khan 22; Hafiz Almas Ayub 3 for 28, Shahid Iqbal 2 for 28) Sharjah Warriorz Development 145/10 in 17.3 overs (Harpreet Bhatia 51, Luqman Faisal 38; Vishnu Sukumaran 2 for 7, Zahoor Khan 2 for 13)

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development defeated Desert Vipers Development by 88 runs
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development 196/8 in 20 overs (Usaid Amin 41, Muhammad Aftab Alam 30;  Wali Muhammad Afridi 2 for 31, Khuzaima Tanveer 2 for 37) Desert Vipers Development 108/10 in 15.5 overs (Nilansh Keswani 35, Harshit Kaushik 18; Falak Noor 6 for 15, Zahid Ali 2 for 24)

Dubai Capitals Development defeated Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development by three wickets
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Development 123/10 in 17.1 overs (Uzair Haider Maan 40, Masood Gurbaz 20; Tahir Zaman 4 for 16, Muhammad Arfan 2 for 28) Dubai Capitals Development 125/7 in 19 overs (Raees Ahmed 44 not out, Akshdeep Nath 22; Asel Sigera 2 for 23, Zahid Ali 2 for 31, Ibrar Ahmed 2 for 33)

Gulf Giants Development defeated Sharjah Warriorz Development by 21 runs
Gulf Giants Development 203/10 in 19.3 overs (Sagar Kalyan 80, Junaid Shamsu 30, Zuhaib Zubair 27; Hafiz Almas Ayub 3 for 38, Udish Suri 2 for 28, Shahid Iqbal 2 for 39) Sharjah Warriorz Development 182/8 in 20 overs (Luqman Faisal 51, Mohit Kalyan 46, Dhruv Parashar 27; Mohammed Irshad 3 for 44, Awais Ahmed 2 for 29, Zuhaib Zubair 2 for 38)