Ashwin enters ILT20 auction with the highest base price for any player

R Ashwin has listed a base price of USD 120,000, the highest for any player, at the inaugural ILT20 auction. The auction will be held in Dubai on October 1.

Ashwin, who retired from international cricket as well as the IPL recently, is the only player in the ILT20 auction longlist with a base price in six figures. If he is picked, the ILT20 will be his first overseas T20 league.

Ashwin, 39, is among the 24 Indians on the auction longlist, which has almost 800 players as of now. A final list will be prepared this week once the ILT20 receives the wishlist from each franchise.

The fourth edition of ILT20, comprising six teams, will be played between December 2 and January 4. Ashwin has listed full availability for the tournament, after which he is likely to head to the BBL where four teams are understood to have expressed interest in hiring him for the latter half of the season.

The ILT20 franchises had carried out their retentions and direct signings in July. Each team could spend up to USD 1.2 million on retentions and direct signings, with the balance amount to be added to the auction purse of USD 800,000. While a franchise can exhaust its entire USD 2 million purse, it will need to spend a minimum of USD 1.5 million. The ILT20 rules also permit franchises to spend an additional USD 250,000 to buy up to two wildcard players outside the auction.

As per the squad composition rules, each franchise needs a minimum of 19 players and a maximum of 21, excluding the wildcards. There must be a minimum of 11 players from the Full Member countries, four from UAE, one from Kuwait, one from Saudi Arabia and two from other Associate countries.

The franchises will also have one right-to-match (RTM) card but they can use it only to buy back a UAE player. That player must have been part of the franchise's development squad or the 2025 squad.