T20 stars headline DP World ILT20 Season 5 pre-auction signings

Superstar T20 batters Finn Allen, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen will add immense value to the DP World International League T20’s batting firepower - with the trio joining the league as pre-suction signings for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Gulf Giants for the tournament’s fifth season.

Allen (ADKR), Miller and Klaasen (both Gulf Giants) will be making their maiden DP World ILT20 appearances while big-hitting Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (Dubai Capitals) makes a return to the tournament after a three-year gap.

DP World ILT20 icons Jason Holder, Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Shimron Hetmyer (Desert Vipers), Rovman Powell and Mustafizur Rahman (Dubai Capitals), Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Romario Shepherd (MI Emirates) and Sikandar Raza (Sharjah Warriorz) return to their Season 4 franchises. Vipers - defending champions - have also retained Andries Gous and Dan Lawrence while all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai and fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani return to the Giants camp.

The six DP World ILT20 franchises completed the pre-auction signing process for foreign players on Aug.3 -- the submission deadline.

Each team was permitted a total of four pre-auction signings.

The teams will complete their selection process by adding UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and additional foreign players - minimum of 18 and a maximum of 23 players per squad - at the DP World ILT20 Season 5 player auction which will be held in Dubai on Oct.1, 2026. Players can register for the auction at: https://registration.ilt20.ae/. The last date of submission is Sept.12, 2026.

Following the auction, each team will be permitted to add one further Wildcard signing.

New Zealand’s Finn Allen is widely regarded as one of the most fearsome openers in the T20 circuit. The right-hander blazed away to a sensational 33-ball century in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against South Africa. In 62 T20I appearances, the 27-year-old has scored 1663 runs (three 100s) at a phenomenal 170.73 strike-rate.

David Miller is one of the most seasoned and accomplished middle-order batters in the format. The left-hander has tallied 2804 T20I runs at 33.78 (141.40 strike-rate) in his distinguished 140-match T20I career for South Africa.

Heinrich Klaasen scored 1000 runs for South Africa in 58 T20I matches. The wicketkeeper-batter is considered one of the best hitters in the T20 format, especially against spin bowling. He remains one of the most sought after T20 players on the circuit with nearly 300 T20 appearances and close to 7000 runs in the format.

Stoinis - an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 winner - has remained one of the mainstays of Australia’s white-ball squads for more than a decade. In 87 T20Is, he has scored 1416 runs (30.78 average, 146.28 strike-rate) as an explosive middle and lower-order batter. With his right-arm medium-pace bowling Stoinis has captured 53 wickets at 25.22.

DP World ILT20 Season 5 pre-auction signings also include USA’s Matthew Tromp - ADKR (18 T20s, 385 runs, 29.61 average, 150.39 strike-rate), Afghanistan’s Mujeeb-ur-Rahman - Desert Vipers (five previous appearances each for Gulf Giants and Dubai Capitals), Noor Ahmad - Dubai Capitals (seven previous appearances for Sharjah Warriorz and eight for Desert Vipers), West Indian Sherfane Rutherford - MI Emirates (nine previous appearances for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and 30 for Desert Vipers), Adam Milne - Sharjah Warriorz (12 appearances for the Warriorz in Season 3), James Vince - Sharjah Warriorz (42 previous appearances for Gulf Giants) and Waqar Salamkheil - Sharjah Warriorz (21 previous appearances for MI Emirates and 11 for Dubai Capitals).