Antigua and Barbuda fast bowler
Alzarri Joseph has secured a lucrative US$230,000 contract with the Gulf Giants
after being purchased during the DP World International League T20 Season 5 Player Auction in Dubai on Thursday.
The West Indies pacer was among the major international players available at the auction, which featured more than 200 cricketers from 23 countries. Joseph was eventually snapped up by the Gulf Giants for US$230,000, making him one of the higher-priced players at this year’s auction.
Joseph will form part of a powerful Gulf Giants squad that also includes several prominent international players.
England all-rounder
Liam Livingstone
was the franchise’s biggest auction purchase at US$350,000, while Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
returned to the Giants for US$310,000 through the Right to Match mechanism.
The Giants also acquired fellow West Indies fast bowler
Shamar Joseph for US$80,000
, Namibia all-rounder David Wiese for US$70,000 and Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran for US$65,000. West Indies batter
Alick Athanaze
was another Caribbean addition, joining for US$10,000.
Joseph’s US$230,000 price placed him among the biggest purchases of the auction. Afghanistan fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi attracted the highest bid of the day, with MI Emirates paying a record US$380,000. Livingstone went for US$350,000, Gurbaz for US$310,000 and former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis for US$300,000.
The Gulf Giants spent a total of
US$1.972 million
assembling their squad through retentions, direct signings and the auction. Their roster also includes South African stars David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani and Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.
Joseph, 29, has been a key member of the West Indies pace attack across formats and has also built considerable experience in franchise cricket.
His latest deal gives Antigua and Barbuda another presence in one of international cricket’s major franchise competitions, with Joseph set to line up alongside some of the biggest names in T20 cricket when the fifth season of the ILT20 gets underway.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Alzarri Joseph Lands US$230,000 Deal With Gulf Giants in ILT20 Auction.