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It was a long walk through the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach hotel to the room where the DP World ILT20 player auction was to be held. In the corridors outside there was earnest talk and an air of expectancy. Inside, it was cool and fairly empty. On the raised stage, Richard Madley, the auctioneer, was a bundle of energy as he appeared to be making last-minute adjustments to his notes. Immediately in front and below him, seven casino-style tables were positioned, one each for the six franchise teams and one for dignitaries who would take part in the proceedings.

At the allotted start time of 2 p.m. there was more activity outside the room than within it. Simon Doull, the master of ceremonies, stood alone at the podium waiting for the signal to start. He was less agitated than when he had been left high and dry as MC of the awards ceremony after the Asia Cup final. There, he was caught in the middle of the stand-off between the Indian team and the Pakistan chair of the Asian Cricket Council, who was due to present the trophy and medals. The row has rumbled on, re-emerging at the ACC AGM the day after the final. It is understood that the trophy remains in the ACC offices.

The corridors outside the auction room gradually emptied as the participants, attendees and media took their seats. At each end of the fenced-off area containing the bidders, the auctioneer and his support team, two large screens displayed the amount of dollars which each franchise had available to spend, along with the number of overseas and total players bought to date. Each squad are required to secure a minimum of 19 and up to a maximum of 21 players. These are to be split with a minimum of 11 from ICC Full Member nations, four from the UAE, including one U-23 UAE player, one from Kuwait, one from ��������, and two from other ICC Associate Nations. Two further wildcard signings are permitted outside the auction, up to a maximum of $250,000.

On the day the franchises had $800,000 available to complete their squads, plus any funds left over from the $1.2 million available for the retention picks from their January/February 2025 squads and new signings. These were announced on July 7. The minimum base price for players was $10,000. Senior internationals and all-rounders had a base price of $40,000, established internationals and T20 specialists $80,000 and elite marquee names $120,000. This was the category for Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s legendary spin bowler. He recently retired from international cricket and was free of any contractual obligations to the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the Indian Premier League.

After Doull had opened proceedings, the auctioneer took center stage. He outlined the auction process. Over 300 players from 20 countries were registered, divided into seven sets by status. These were UAE capped players, Full Member players, Associate players, UAE uncapped players, Kuwaiti players, ��������n players and a final group who would be subject to an accelerated auction. Within the sets, players would be drawn at random out of a purple bag by a distinguished guest, after which the auctioneer would read out the player’s name and base price, the cue for inviting bids. Once the first six sets were concluded, franchises could request players who had not been sold to be returned to the auction for the accelerated round.

The event had a long feel to it and got away to a slow start, the first two players in the UAE set going unsold. Any frustration that the auctioneer may have felt was compounded by his three requests for the lights to be turned up so that he could see the bidders and their actions clearly. The lights did come up but quickly subsided three times. Then came a successful bid at a player’s base price, followed by three unsuccessful ones, before excitement arrived in the shape of the UAE’s Muhammad Rohid being sold for $140,000 against his base price of $10,000. Shortly afterwards, his fellow UAE player Junaid Siddique was bought for $170,000.

The atmosphere had begun to heat up, just in time for the full members set, which contained a number of well-known players. Surprises had been anticipated by the auctioneer. It was fascinating to watch him work the room, as he picked up bids in an instant, keeping the pace high. His subtle pauses after well-known players went unsold may have betrayed surprise. Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s Test captain, was one; Jason Roy, a World Cup winner with England in 2019, was another. When it came to Ashwin, the auctioneer noted that his was a name with which he was very familiar from IPL auctions. Ashwin was offered to the floor and no one twitched. Much to everyone’s surprise, he went unsold during the extended time which the auctioneer allowed.

A key factor which franchises must take into account when bidding for players is how much availability they will provide. The next edition of ILT20 in December will clash with the Big Bash League in Australia and the Lanka Premier League in Sri Lanka. In a surprise announcement this week, the LPL’s organizers revealed that the BCCI will permit certain Indian players to participate. Permission for contracted Indians to play in any franchise league other than the IPL has been forbidden. Competition between franchises is becoming fiercer.

In Ashwin’s case he had signed with the Sydney Thunder, joining them in early January at the end of ILT20. It seems that after failing to be bought in the opening stage of the ILT20 auction, he decided to withdraw and not put his name forward to the accelerated stage. Most commentators regarded this as a premature decision, arguing that several franchises had sufficient funds to mount serious bids. Ashwin was quick to announce that he had agreed to play the entire BBL season for the Thunder.

After this surprise, the auction progressed quickly, as the auctioneer, conscious of time pressures, raced his way through the sets. Faisal Khan was the first ��������n player to be bought, and Adnan Idrees the first from Kuwait, by the Desert Vipers and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders respectively, at their base prices of $10,000. Afterwards, in press interviews, both Sajid Ashraf, director general of the Kuwait Cricket Board, and Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud, president of the ��������n Cricket Federation, expressed their delight at the outcome of the auction and their partnerships with ILT20.

Completion of the franchise squads through the accelerated stage proved to be a long journey. Dinner timings were pushed back several times to accommodate this.

It was a player auction that had demanded very careful planning, purposeful and strategic bidding, and abundant stamina to ensure that the balance of the squads was achieved. Stamina and skill set were also required by the auctioneer, who must have been a very tired man at the close of play.