ipl 2026 mini auction The showdown, which took place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on 16 December, attracted global attention as the franchises competed for 77 slots with a combined purse of Rs 237.55 crore. Between record shopping e.g. cameron green KKR for ₹25.20 crore and Mathisha Pathirana For the same team for ₹18 crore, several high-profile players failed to attract bids, leading to changing narratives around the team’s priorities. The event, which saw 359 shortlisted players out of 1390 registrants, highlighted strategic purse management after retention, with the uncapped Indians turning the spotlight on the veterans.
Youth dominate IPL 2026 mini auction
The franchise displayed a clear pivot from experienced superstars to young, uncapped Indian talent, reflecting long-term team-building amid tight budgets. Chennai Super Kings Creates record by spending ₹14.20 crore on each untapped potential Prashant Veer And Karthik SharmaJointly the highest for domestic players in IPL history, a sign of confidence in future stars over established names. Teams like KKR and RCB preferred balanced units with emerging fast bowlers and all-rounders Mumbai IndiansOnly ₹2.75 crore left, focused on trades like Sherfane Rutherford To increase depth without huge auction expenses
This youth influx is in line with recent trends, where 224 uncapped Indians dominated the pool, overshadowing overseas options and forcing captains to bet on domestic potential for a fixture in IPL 2026. Purse leaders like KKR (₹64.3 crore pre-auction) restructured aggressively after the release Venkatesh IyerWho later got only ₹7 crore at RCB, which underlines the devaluation of underperformers.
Unexpected twist in IPL 2026 mini auction, star players not sold
The auction took surprising turns England‘S liam livingstone (₹2 crore base) and Prithvi Shaw (₹75 lakh) is one of those stars who surprised fans by remaining unsold despite the hype. Expected as a fixed all-rounder, Livingstone initially attracted zero interest, while Shaw’s domestic form failed to impress bidders amid tactical scrutiny. new zealand opener devon conway (₹2 crore) and Afghani spinner mujeeb ur rehman (₹2 crore) also missed out, like the previous mini-auction, where time trumped reputation.
Other wonders include South Africa Gerald Coetzee (₹2 crore) and Sri Lanka’s Mahesh Theekshana (₹2 crore), was ignored as teams chased fast bowlers Enrique Nortje (₹2 crore to LSG). Jake Fraser-McGurkUnfortunate luck in the opener slot added to the chaos, with the franchise citing a dip in form and role mismatch. This moment, amidst bidding wars Ravi Bishnoi (₹7.20 crore to RR), highlights the brutal evolution of IPL
Also read: Cameron Green to Josh Inglis: Top 10 most expensive buys in IPL 2026 auction
Complete list of unsold players with base price in IPL 2026 mini auction
batsmen
- Jake Fraser-McGurk – ₹2 crore
- Devon Conway – ₹2 crore
- Atharva Tayde – ₹30 lakh
- Anmolpreet Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Abhinav Tejrana – ₹30 lakh
- Abhinav Manohar – ₹30 lakh
- Yash Dhull – ₹30 lakh
- Arya Desai – ₹30 lakh
- Sediqullah Atal – ₹75 lakh
- Salman Nizar – ₹30 lakh
- Dheeraj Kumar – ₹30 lakh
- Chintal Gandhi – ₹30 lakh
- Daniel Lategan – ₹30 lakh
- Manan Vohra – ₹30 lakh
- Swastik Chikara – ₹30 lakh
bowlers
- Gerald Coetzee – ₹2 crore
- Spencer Johnson – ₹1.5 crore
- Fazalhaq Farooqui – ₹1 crore
- Mahesh Theekshana – ₹2 crore
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman – ₹2 Crore
- Raj Limbani – ₹30 lakh
- Simarjeet Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Akash Madhwal – ₹30 lakh
- Waheedullah Zadran – ₹30 lakh
- Shivam Shukla- ₹30 lakh
- Karan Sharma – ₹50 lakh
- Karthikeya Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Chetan Sakariya – ₹75 lakh
- Waqar Salamkhil – ₹1 crore
- KM Asif – ₹40 lakh
- Murugan Ashwin – ₹30 lakh
- Tejas Baroka – ₹30 lakh
- KC Cariappa – ₹30 lakh
- Mohit Rathi – ₹30 lakh
- Taskin Ahmed – ₹75 lakh
- Richard Gleeson – ₹75 lakh
- Alzarri Joseph – ₹2 crore
- Riley Meredith – ₹1.5 crore
- Jhay Richardson – ₹1.5 crore
- Irfan Umair – ₹30 lakh
- Mayank Dagar – ₹30 lakh
- Jikku Bright – ₹30 lakh
- Ijaz Saawariya – ₹30 lakh
- Mani Grewal – ₹30 lakh
- RS Ambareesh – ₹30 lakh
all rounder
- Gus Atkinson – ₹2 crore
- Viaan Mulder – ₹1 crore
- Deepak Hooda- ₹75 lakh
- Vijay Shankar – ₹30 lakh
- Rajvardhan Hungergekar – ₹40 lakh
- Mahipal Lomror – ₹50 lakh
- Eden Tom – ₹30 lakh
- Tanush Kotian – ₹30 lakh
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti – ₹30 lakh
- Sanveer Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Sean Abbott – ₹2 crore
- Michael Bracewell – ₹2 crore
- Daryl Mitchell – ₹2 crore
- Dasun Shanaka – ₹75 lakh
- Dan Lawrence – ₹2 crore
- Tanay Thiagarajan – ₹30 lakh
- Nathan Smith – ₹75 lakh
- Karan Lal – ₹30 lakh
- Utkarsh Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Ayush Vartak – ₹30 Lakh
- Mani Shankar Murasingh – ₹30 lakh
- McNeil Noronha – ₹30 lakh
- Siddharth Yadav – ₹30 lakh
- Hrithik Tada – ₹30 lakh
- Chama Milind – ₹30 lakh
- William Sutherland – ₹1 crore
wicketkeepers
- KS Bharat – ₹75 lakh
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz – ₹1.5 crore
- Jonny Bairstow – ₹1 crore
- Jamie Smith – ₹2 crore
- Ruchit Ahir – ₹30 lakh
- Vansh Bedi – ₹30 lakh
- Tushar Raheja – ₹30 lakh
- Connor Esterhuizen – ₹30 lakh
