IPL 2026 Auction: Complete Guide to Date, Players, Teams, and Strategies
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The IPL 2026 auction kicks off today, December 16, 2025, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, drawing global cricket fans with its high-stakes drama. Teams enter with a combined purse of ₹237.55 crore to fill 77 slots from 350 shortlisted players. Expect fierce bidding wars as franchises rebuild squads ahead of the new season.
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Auction Essentials
This one-day mini-auction starts at 2:30 PM IST (1:00 PM UAE time), broadcast on Star Sports, JioCinema, and IPL platforms. BCCI confirmed the venue shift to Abu Dhabi for logistics, marking the third straight overseas event. The format opens with capped players by role—batters, all-rounders, wicketkeepers, pacers, spinners—before uncapped talents.
Rules include a ₹151 crore team salary cap, max 25 players per squad (8 overseas), and Right to Match (RTM) for one bid per team. New for 2026: auction price plus ₹7.5 lakh per match fee, no player exceeding last mega-auction's top Indian price. Pre-auction trades like Sanju Samson to CSK shaped rosters, with the window closing a week prior.
Player Pool Breakdown
Out of 1,390 registrants, 350 made the final list: 240 Indians, 110 overseas from nine nations. The ₹2 crore marquee set boasts 40 stars, including Cameron Green (Australia, all-rounder), Steve Smith (Australia), David Miller (South Africa), and Indians Venkatesh Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi. Other brackets: 9 at ₹1.5 crore (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson), 17 at ₹1 crore, down to 227 at ₹30 lakh.
Uncapped Indians to watch include Auqib Nabi, Ashok Sharma, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, and Krains Fuletra for their domestic promise. Oldest bidder: 39-year-old Jalaj Saxena; youngest: 18-year-old Wahidullah Zadran (Afghanistan). Top targets like Green (strike rate 160+), Livingstone, and Pathirana could shatter records.
Team Purses and Needs
Ten teams retained 173 players (49 overseas), leaving varied purses and slots. KKR leads with ₹64.3 crore for 13 slots (6 overseas), rebuilding after releasing Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer. CSK follows at ₹43.4 crore for 9 slots, eyeing bowlers post-Pathirana release.
Mumbai Indians scrape by with ₹2.75 crore for 5 slots, relying on stars like Bumrah and Pandya. Punjab Kings nearly full at 21 players, ₹11.5 crore left. SRH has ₹25.5 crore for 10 slots, targeting balance.
| Team | Purse (₹ Cr) | Slots Left | Overseas Slots | Retained Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KKR | 64.3 | 13 | 6 | 12 |
| CSK | 43.4 | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| DC | 21.8 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| GT | 12.9 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
| LSG | 22.95 | 6 | 4 | 19 |
| MI | 2.75 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
| PBKS | 11.5 | 4 | 2 | 21 |
| RR | 16.05 | 8 | 1 | 16 |
| RCB | 16.4 | 8 | 1 | 17 |
| SRH | 25.5 | 10 | 2 | 15 |
Retained Cores and Strategies
Retentions deadline was November 15, max 6 per team (2 overseas). CSK kept MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Sanju Samson (trade), Shivam Dube. KKR held Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana. MI retained Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
RCB locked Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt, Josh Hazlewood. PBKS boasts Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis. Strategies vary: big-purse teams chase marquee all-rounders like Green; low-purse ones hunt value uncappeds. Trades like Shardul Thakur to MI added intrigue.
Key Players and Bidding Buzz
Cameron Green tops wishlists for his 2024 exploits (255 runs, 10 wickets), potentially fetching ₹20 crore+ from KKR/CSK. Venkatesh Iyer returns after KKR release, eyed by old team via RTM. Ravi Bishnoi, one of two Indians at ₹2 crore, appeals to spin-needy sides.
Liam Livingstone's power-hitting, Matheesha Pathirana's slingy yorkers, and Prithvi Shaw's explosiveness spark wars. Uncappeds like Kartik Sharma could steal shows at bargain prices. Past auctions saw records like ₹27 crore bids; 2026 caps prevent escalation beyond IPL 2025 peaks.
Viewing and Impact
Catch live on Willow TV (US/Canada, 4 AM ET), JioCinema globally. Etihad Arena's setup promises spectacle with 350 fates decided in hours. Post-auction trades open a month before IPL 2026, allowing tweaks.
This auction shapes T20's biggest league, blending strategy, emotion, and talent hunts that define champions. Fans buzz over surprises—will Green break banks or a dark horse emerge? The drama unfolds now.
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