Babar Azam, Phil Salt and Faf du Plessis may be among the biggest names in Thursday's ILT20 auction, but squad rules could make competition for overseas places particularly tight.
More than 200 players from 23 countries have been shortlisted for the DP World ILT20 Season 5 auction in Dubai on 1 October at ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai
However, an analysis of the squad requirements shows how much of each franchise's recruitment is already dictated by nationality quotas. The six teams currently have four players each, leaving at least 84 places to be filled if every franchise stops at the minimum squad size of 18.
Each team must have at least 11 players from ICC Full Member countries. Four of those must be from Afghanistan and one from Ireland. Across the league, that guarantees 24 places for Afghanistan players and six for Ireland players.
Five Afghanistan players are already among the 24 players signed before the auction, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman at Desert Vipers, Noor Ahmad at Dubai Capitals, Azmatullah Omarzai at Gulf Giants, Rashid Khan at MI Emirates and Waqar Salamkheil at Sharjah Warriorz.
That means franchises collectively still need at least 19 Afghanistan players and six Ireland players.
There are further requirements for four UAE players per franchise, as well as one player each from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Teams must also carry at least one additional Associate Member player from outside those three countries. No UAE, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia player was allowed to be retained for Season 5.
Taken together, the regulations leave relatively limited room at the minimum squad size for Full Member players who fall outside the Afghanistan and Ireland quotas.
Of the 84 minimum places still available, 44 would need to be occupied by Full Member players to bring each franchise up to its required 11.
Twenty-five of those places would be needed to complete the Afghanistan and Ireland quotas, leaving 19 places for players from other Full Member countries if all six franchises were to finish with 18-player squads.
Teams can, however, expand their squads to 23 players, which would create as many as 30 additional places across the competition.
That distinction could be significant for an auction containing a large number of established international players.
Pakistan's Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah and Sahibzada Farhan are among those listed at a base price of $80,000, alongside England's Salt, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales.
South Africa's Du Plessis, Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph are also in the top price bracket.
Shadab Khan, Hassan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat and Hunain Shah are among the Pakistan players listed at $40,000.
The auction also creates a different market for Gulf players. Every UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia player will enter at a base price of $10,000, while each franchise is required to sign four UAE players and one each from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The UAE requirement alone guarantees 24 squad positions across the six franchises.
MI Emirates will have the largest auction purse at $1.39m, followed by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at $1.365m. Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants will each have $1.305m, while Dubai Capitals and Sharjah Warriorz will enter with $1.3m.
Franchises must finish the auction with between 18 and 23 players and total squad spending of between $1.5m and $2m. One wildcard player can subsequently be signed for an additional fee of up to $250,000.
A new composition rule adds another challenge for franchises when forming their playing XI, with every side required to include at least two UAE players, two Afghanistan players, and one player from another Associate member nation.
Season 5 is scheduled to run from November 21 to 20 December across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
More than 200 players from 23 countries have been shortlisted for the DP World ILT20 Season 5 auction in Dubai on 1 October at ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai
However, an analysis of the squad requirements shows how much of each franchise's recruitment is already dictated by nationality quotas. The six teams currently have four players each, leaving at least 84 places to be filled if every franchise stops at the minimum squad size of 18.
Each team must have at least 11 players from ICC Full Member countries. Four of those must be from Afghanistan and one from Ireland. Across the league, that guarantees 24 places for Afghanistan players and six for Ireland players.
Five Afghanistan players are already among the 24 players signed before the auction, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman at Desert Vipers, Noor Ahmad at Dubai Capitals, Azmatullah Omarzai at Gulf Giants, Rashid Khan at MI Emirates and Waqar Salamkheil at Sharjah Warriorz.
That means franchises collectively still need at least 19 Afghanistan players and six Ireland players.
There are further requirements for four UAE players per franchise, as well as one player each from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Teams must also carry at least one additional Associate Member player from outside those three countries. No UAE, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia player was allowed to be retained for Season 5.
Taken together, the regulations leave relatively limited room at the minimum squad size for Full Member players who fall outside the Afghanistan and Ireland quotas.
Of the 84 minimum places still available, 44 would need to be occupied by Full Member players to bring each franchise up to its required 11.
Twenty-five of those places would be needed to complete the Afghanistan and Ireland quotas, leaving 19 places for players from other Full Member countries if all six franchises were to finish with 18-player squads.
Teams can, however, expand their squads to 23 players, which would create as many as 30 additional places across the competition.
That distinction could be significant for an auction containing a large number of established international players.
Pakistan's Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah and Sahibzada Farhan are among those listed at a base price of $80,000, alongside England's Salt, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales.
South Africa's Du Plessis, Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph are also in the top price bracket.
Shadab Khan, Hassan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat and Hunain Shah are among the Pakistan players listed at $40,000.
The auction also creates a different market for Gulf players. Every UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia player will enter at a base price of $10,000, while each franchise is required to sign four UAE players and one each from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The UAE requirement alone guarantees 24 squad positions across the six franchises.
MI Emirates will have the largest auction purse at $1.39m, followed by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at $1.365m. Desert Vipers and Gulf Giants will each have $1.305m, while Dubai Capitals and Sharjah Warriorz will enter with $1.3m.
Franchises must finish the auction with between 18 and 23 players and total squad spending of between $1.5m and $2m. One wildcard player can subsequently be signed for an additional fee of up to $250,000.
A new composition rule adds another challenge for franchises when forming their playing XI, with every side required to include at least two UAE players, two Afghanistan players, and one player from another Associate member nation.
Season 5 is scheduled to run from November 21 to 20 December across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
