IPL 2026 auction: Date, key players, purse remaining, and more
What's the story
The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction is set to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. This marks the third consecutive year that the IPL auction will be held outside India. Jeddah and Dubai hosted the last two events. As reported earlier, 359 players will go under the hammer for the auction after thousands registered their names. Here are the key details.
Details
Timing and broadcast details
The IPL 2026 mini-auction, beginning at 2.30pm IST, will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network TV channels. It can also be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website. This gives fans a chance to catch all the action from Abu Dhabi. Unlike the mega-auction, the bidding event for IPL 2026 will be a one-day affair.
Financial strategies
KKR have the largest budget
All 10 IPL franchises have already revealed their retained and released players ahead of the 2026 season. Kolkata Knight Riders will enter the auction with the biggest purse of ₹64.3 crore. Chennai Super Kings are second in the race with ₹43.4 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad (25.5), Lucknow Super Giants (22.95), Delhi Capitals (21.8), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (16.4), Rajasthan Royals (16.05), Gujarat Titans (12.9), Punjab Kings (11.5), and Mumbai Indians (2.75) follow suit.
Strategic bidding
Squad and player details
As many as 77 slots, including 31 for overseas players, can be filled during the IPL 2026 auction. KKR (13) and SRH (10) have the most slots. Among the 359 registered players, 244 are Indian and 115 overseas. Notably, 40 players have set a base price of ₹2 crore. Among the Indian players, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi are the only ones to have registered at a base price of ₹2 crore.
Sets
Green, Conway in opening set
With the 2026 event being a mini-auction, there won't be any marquee set. The order will be batters, all-rounders, wicket-keepers, fast bowlers, and spinners, followed by a round of uncapped players. The first set will see batters Devon Conway (₹2 crore), Jake Fraser-McGurk (₹2 crore), Cameron Green (₹2 crore), Sarfaraz Khan (₹75 Lakh), David Miller (₹2 crore), and Prithvi Shaw (₹75 Lakh) go under the hammer.
Details
Bids, RTM card: Other key details
Although Green is expected to shatter IPL auction records, he won't be touching the ₹30 crore mark. According to the IPL's "maximum-fee" rule, an overseas player can't be signed at more than ₹18 crore, the highest retention slab for franchises ahead of the 2025 mega auction. If the bid exceeds this mark, the additional money would be utilised by the BCCI for player welfare, according to the IPL. Meanwhile, the Right to Match (RTM) option is not applicable this time.