Gulf Giants, which are owned by Adani Sportsline, achieved a record-breaking afternoon at the ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction in Dubai, where they twice established a new standard for the most expensive player in the tournament.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the most expensive player in the history of the ILT20 Player Auction, was initially retained by the Gulf Giants for $310,000 by exercising their Right-to-Match option. Gurbaz is a batsman and wicketkeeper from Afghanistan. The record was only briefly maintained before England all-rounder Liam Livingstone joined the Giants for $350,000.
The Gulf Giants also acquired West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph for $230,000, as well as West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph, Namibia all-rounder David Wiese, Afghanistan batsman Ibrahim Zadran, South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, and Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher.
Gurbaz provides the Giants with an additional explosive option at the top of the order, while Livingstone provides additional international experience to a batting group that includes South Africa’s David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen.
Helmot indicated that the subsequent objective was to augment the batting potency with the appropriate bowling options.
The Gulf Giants’ auction activity follows a successful campaign for their development side, which emerged victorious in the ILT20 Development Tournament. The Season 5 group also reflects the pathway from the development program to the senior squad, with UAE players such as Sagar Kalyan, Awais Ahmed, and Haider Razzaq being included in the auction signings.
Helmot stated that the group’s attention would now turn to assembling in anticipation of the tournament, as the auction has concluded.
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Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah will host the fifth installment of the ILT20 in 2026, which will take place from November 22 to December 20.
Gulf Giants Season 5 Squad
Retentions / Direct Signings
Azmatullah Omarzai, Blessing Muzarabani, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen
Auction Signings
Liam Livingstone (USD 350,000), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (USD 310,000) (RTM), Alzarri Joseph (USD 230,000), Shamar Joseph (USD 80,000), David Wiese (USD 70,000), Ibrahim Zadran (USD 65,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (USD 40,000), Curtis Campher (USD 22,000), Dhruv Parashar (USD 10,000), Matiullah Khan (USD 10,000), Haider Razzaq (USD 10,000), Imran Mir (USD 10,000), Imtiaz Khan (USD 10,000), Meet Bhavsar (USD 10,000) (RTM), Shubham Ranjane (USD 10,000), Wahidullah Zadran (USD 10,000), Awais Ahmed (USD 10,000), Sagar Kalyan (USD 10,000), Alick Athanaze (USD 10,000)
