The fifth edition of the International League T20 is scheduled for October 1 at the ICC Academy Indoors, where Babar Azam, the captain and star batsman of the Pakistan Test team, has joined the auction pool.
Babar will be among 17 Pakistan players registered for the auction that will see over 200 players from 23 countries compete to prove themselves. The pool consists of players from 11 full ICC member countries, players from ILT20 partner countries Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and 10 other associate countries.
Pinpointing the names of the Pakistan contingent is not difficult at all, as there are some internationally known names there. Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Usman Tariq, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Hassan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Saim Ayub, Khushdil Shah, Maaz Sadaqat and Sahibzada Farhan have also entered the auction alongside Babar.
Players have been split into three categories: $80,000, $40,000 and $10,000. Babar, Fakhar, Naseem, Farhan and Usman Tariq are the five players in the top bracket of Pakistan.
The second group, which has been dubbed “Seasoned T20 Superstars”, has 12 international players. In this range Pakistan has a few exquisite representatives like Shadab Khan, Maaz Sadaqat, Hassan Nawaz and Hunain Shah.
The auction also has a very strong international contingent, with England’s Phil Salt, Tom Banton, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, David Willey and Chris Woakes all in the mix. Alex Hales, former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and Dasun Shanaka, Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed and West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph are also on the roster.
Babar’s appearance is an additional international big name to the auction where established stars and emerging talent from a wide variety of cricketing nations will be assembled. A point accumulation battle will take place on the 1st of October, deciding who will get a spot in ILT20 Season Five.
