DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Twenty-five Afghan cricketers have been allocated across the six ILT20 franchises under a rule that reserves Afghan places in both squads and match-day teams, the Afghanistan Cricket Board announced on Monday.
The squad requirement accounts for at least 24 places across the competition. Afghanistan has one more: Gulf Giants carry five Afghan players, while the other five franchises have four each.
Fazalhaq Farooqi received the largest contract among the Afghan players listed by the ACB, joining MI Emirates for $380,000. Rahmanullah Gurbaz went to Gulf Giants for $310,000, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar joined MI Emirates for $150,000 and Mohammad Nabi signed with Sharjah Warriorz for $140,000.
Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Waqar Salamkheil had already secured pre-auction places. Rashid will play for MI Emirates; Omarzai for Gulf Giants; Mujeeb for Desert Vipers; Noor for Dubai Capitals; and Salamkheil for Sharjah Warriorz.
The six-team season is scheduled to run from 22 November to 20 December in the United Arab Emirates. The two-Afghan minimum in each playing XI means the agreement covers selection on match days, not only squad registration.
Sources: Afghanistan Cricket Board · ILT20 auction rules · ILT20 pre-auction signings
