{
  "id": 11232756,
  "title": "Pakistan stars Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman remain poor relations as millions are spent at ILT20 auction",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/pakistan-stars-babar-azam-and-fakhar-zaman-remain-poor-relations-as",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-01T15:37:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/2026/10/01/pakistan-stars-babar-azam-and-fakhar-zaman-remain-poor-relations-as-millions-are-spent-at-ilt20-auction/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the DP World International League T20 auction held in Dubai, Pakistan's top stars Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman were recruited at bargain prices. Despite being some of the world's best-known players, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman were purchased by the Desert Vipers for their base rates of $80,000 each. Other Pakistani players, including Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah, were also brought in for the same base prices. The auction saw players from other nations, such as Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi, who was snapped up by MI Emirates for a record-breaking $380,000, and England's Liam Livingstone, who fetched $350,000. The Pakistani players' inclusion in the Desert Vipers' squad is seen as a significant advantage, as they formed the backbone of the team that won the league title last season.",
  "summary": "Leading players from around the world enjoyed bumper pay days at the DP World International League T20 auction in Dubai. But Pakistan’s top stars were recruited at bargain basement prices as they continue to be overlooked by Indian franchise owners. Babar Azam has scored more T20 international runs than anyone in history, and was one of the best-known players in the auction . He was purchased for…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Babar Azam, the Pakistan issue and $1.3m to spend: ILT20 auction explained",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/babar-azam-the-pakistan-issue-and-1-3m-to-spend-ilt20-auction",
        "published": "2026-09-30T14:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Times",
        "title": "Fans enter field after Babar Azam dismissal, raising security concerns",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/fans-enter-field-after-babar-azam-dismissal-raising-security-concerns",
        "published": "2026-09-30T17:37:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}