Breaking bank on Green, hefty rewards for domestic toil, steal deals: How IPL 2026 Auction panned out

Abu Dhabi [UAE], December 16 : The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green, who made a record-breaking move to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), while some domestic performers from the Indian scene had a massive, life-changing payday to remember.
The IPL 2026 is set to take place from March 26 to May 31, continuing its traditional slot in the cricket calendar. Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to release the complete schedule, the 19th edition of the tournament is expected to begin around three weeks after the T20 World Cup, which will be held from February 7 to March 8 across India and Sri Lanka, and will conclude at the end of May, as per ESPNcricinfo.
*Franchises breaking big bank on foreigners
The IPL auction 2026 was headlined by three massive moves, Green moving to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 25.20 crores, Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana bidding farewell to CSK after being signed by the same franchise for Rs 18 crores, and England's swashbuckling hitter Liam Livingstone signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 13 crores.
The most record-breaking out of these was Green's move to Purple and Gold, making him the most expensive overseas player in the tournament's history and third-most expensive player in the competition's history. He outdid KKR's Rs 24.75 bid for Aussie left-armer Mitchell Starc ahead of the 2024 season.
Green has scored 521 runs in 21 T20Is matches at an average of 32.56, SR of 160.30, with six fifties and has 12 wickets averaging 23.35. He has scored 1,334 runs in 63 T20S at an average of 33.35, SR of 151.07, with a century and seven fifties and taken 28 wickets averaging above 34.
The young Aussie all-rounder featured in the 2023 and 2024 IPL seasons with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), scoring 707 runs in 29 matches at an average of 41.58, with an SR of 153-plus, a century and two fifties and took 16 wickets at an average of above 41.5. But he did not participate in last season's auction due to injury.
Pathirana has picked up 31 wickets in 21 T20Is at an average of 18.25, with two four-fers. The right-arm speedster has taken 133 wickets in 100 T20s at an average of 21.40. In IPL, Pathirana scalped 47 wickets for Chennai Super Kings in 32 matches at an average of over 21. In the 2025 season, in 13 games, he scalped 12 wickets at an average of 32.61.
Livingstone brings vast T20 experience, having scored 7,496 runs in 330 T20 matches at an average of 28.18 and a strike rate of 144.93, including two centuries and 39 half-centuries, along with 143 wickets at an average just over 25. For England, he has 955 runs in 60 T20Is at an average of 25.13 and a strike rate of 148.98, with one century and two fifties, besides 43 wickets. In the IPL, Livingstone has scored 1,051 runs in 49 matches for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at a strike rate of over 158, with seven half-centuries, while also taking 13 wickets.
Though he was part of RCB's title-winning campaign last season, he scored 112 runs in eight matches. He arrives on the back of a strong Hundred season for Birmingham Phoenix, where he scored 241 runs at an average of 40.16 and took seven wickets, and an impressive Vitality Blast for Lancashire, amassing 260 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate above 176, along with six wickets.
*A massive payday for India's domestic talent as toil earned
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured two explosive batters, one a spin bowling all-rounder to fill in Ravindra Jadeja's shoes and carry on his legacy and the other a swashbuckling wicketkeeper batter, Prashant Veer from UP and Karthik Sharma from Rajasthan. These two were secured for Rs 14.20, making them the joint-most expensive uncapped players in IPL history.
Prashant, an all-rounder from UP, drew attention in a bidding war among Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, CSK, Rajasthan Royals, and SRH. It was the five-time champions CSK that persisted until the last and secured him for Rs 14.20 crores.
He has been a solid performer for UP in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), scoring 112 runs in six innings at an average above 37, a strike rate above 170, and a best score of 40*. He also took nine wickets in seven matches at an average of around 18.
Mumbai Indians (MI) started the bidding war for Sharma at the base price of Rs 30 lakh. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) joined the fray as the price jumped to Rs 5 crore.CSK then made a bid for Sharma, pushing up his price. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a last-gasp bid, before the five-time champions CSK bagged Sharma for an eye-catching price of Rs 14.20 crore.
Karthik, a rising wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan, has played 12 T20S matches and 11 innings, scoring 334 runs at 30.36 and a strike rate of 162.92, with two fifties. In the Ranji Trophy, Sharma has played five matches and six innings, scoring 331 runs at a superb average of 55.16, including two centuries.
The 29-year-old Aquib from Jammu and Kashmir, causing mayhem in domestic cricket with his skillset as a pacer, finally got a home in the biggest league in the world with the Delhi Capitals (DC). For Aquib, DC started the bid, and eventually Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) entered the fray. As the bid crossed Rs 1 crore, RR opted out, and RCB continued bidding alongside DC, with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) also joining. It was eventually DC which got him for Rs 8.40 crores. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Aquib took 15 wickets at an average of 13.26, with a four-fer to his name. In 34 T20s, he has taken 43 wickets at an average of 21.81, including two four-fers. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy too, he has so far taken 29 wickets in five matches at an average of 13.27, with a four-fer and three five-wicket hauls to his name, including best figures of 7/24 against Rajasthan.
MP's batter Akshat Raghuvanshi saw Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and SRH bidding for him, and he earned his maiden IPL gig with LSG. In the Madhya Pradesh Premier League this year, he made 259 runs in four matches at an average of 59.75, SR of over 177, with a century and fifty each. Also, left-armer pacer from MP, Mangesh Yadav, went to RCB for Rs 5.2 crores as a back-up for left-armer Yash Dayal. He topped the Madhya Pradesh Premier League bowling charts with 14 wickets in six matches at an average of 12.00 and three four-fers with his name.
*Some steal deals
Franchises pulled off what could be some steal deals. The defending champions RCB secured England's The Hundred top run-getter (with 367 runs in nine matches with three fifties), Jordan Cox for Rs 75 lakh. CSK reunited with Matt Henry, now one of the world's best all-format bowlers at just Rs two crores. LSG got the services of globe-trotting T20 Sri Lankan star Wanindu Hasaranga for just Rs two crores. KKR secured the services of one of the best wicketkeeper-batters in the world, New Zealand's Tim Seifert for Rs 1.5 crores and one of the world's best current all-rounders Rachin Ravindra for just two crores, while Delhi Capitals got David Miller's finishing experience at just Rs two crores. Mumbai also reunited with one of their once-vital players, South Africa's Quinton de Kock for Rs one crore only.
All the squads after IPL 2026 Auction:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Full squad: Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Nuwan Thushara, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Dar, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Vihaan Malhotra (Rs 30 lakh), Jordan Cox (Rs 75 lakh), Venkatesh Iyer (Rs 7 Cr), Satvik Deswal (Rs 30 lakh), Mangesh Yadav (Rs 5.20 Cr), Vicky Ostwal (Rs 30 lakh), Kanishk Chouhan (Rs 30 lakh), Jacob Duffy (Rs 2 Cr)
Chennai Super Kings
Full squad: Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan (Rs 75 lakh), Kartik Sharma (Rs 14.20 Cr), Prashant Veer (Rs 14.20 Cr), Matthew Short (Rs 1.50 Cr), Aman Khan (Rs 40 lakh), Zak Foulkes (Rs 75 lakh), Akeal Hosein (Rs 2 Cr), Rahul Chahar (INR 5.2 Cr), Matt Henry (Rs 2 Cr)
Punjab Kings
Full squad: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly (Rs 3 Cr), Pravin Dubey (Rs 30 lakh), Vishal Nishad (Rs 30 lakh), Ben Dwarshuis (Rs 4.40 Cr)
Gujarat Titans
Full squad: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Luke Wood (Rs 75 lakh) Prithvi Raj Yarra (Rs 30 lakh), Tom Banton (Rs 2 crore), Jason Holder (Rs 7 crore), Ashok Sharma (Rs 90 lakh)
Lucknow Super Giants
Full squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshin Kulkarni, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Inglis (Rs 8.5 Crore), Mukul Choudhary (Rs 2.6 Crore), Akshat Raghuwanshi (Rs 2.2 Crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs 2 Crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs 2 Crore), Naman Tiwari (Rs 1 Crore)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Full Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rahul Tripathi (Rs 75 lakh), Finn Allen (Rs 2 Cr), Tejasvi Singh (Rs 3 Cr), Tim Seifert (Rs 1.50 Cr), Cameron Green (Rs 25.20 Cr), Sarthak Ranjan (Rs 30 lakh), Daksh Kamra (Rs 30 lakh), Rachin Ravindra (Rs 2 Cr), Prashant Solanki (Rs 30 lakh), Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 18 Cr), Kartik Tyagi (Rs 30 lakh), Mustafizur Rahman (Rs 9.20 Cr), Akash Deep (Rs 1 Cr)
Rajasthan Royals
Full squad: Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-Dre Pretorious, Nandre Burger, Ravindra Jadeja, Riyan Parag, Sam Curran, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Charak, Aman Rao (Rs 30 lakh), Ravi Singh (Rs 95 lakh), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 7.20 cr), Yash Raj Punja (Rs 30 lakh), Vignesh Puthur (Rs 30 lakh), Sushant Mishra (Rs 90 lakh), Brijesh Sharma (Rs 30 lakh), Adam Milne (Rs 2.40 cr), Kuldeep Sen (Rs 75 lakh)
Delhi Capitals
Full Squad: KL Rahul, Abishek Porel (wk), Nitish Rana, Karun Nair/Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T. Natarajan, Ajay Mandal, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurna Vijay, Dushmantha Chameera, Pathum Nissanka (Rs 4 crore), David Miller (Rs 2 crore), Prithvi Shaw (Rs 75 lakh), Sahil Parakh (Rs 30 lakh), Ben Duckett (Rs 2 crore), Auqib Nabi Dar (Rs 8.4 crore), Kyle Jamieson (Rs 2 crore), Lungi Ngidi (Rs 2 crore)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Full Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Smaran Ravichandaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari, Salil Arora (Rs 1.50 Cr), Shivang Kumar (Rs 30 lakh), Liam Livingstone (Rs 13 Cr), Jack Edwards (Rs 3 Cr), Amit Kumar (Rs30 lakh), Krains Fuletra (Rs 30 lakh), Sakib Hussain (Rs 30 lakh), Onkar Tarmale (Rs 30 lakh), Praful Hinge (Rs 30 lakh), Shivam Mavi (Rs 75 lakh)
Mumbai Indians
Full Squad: AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande (traded), Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Shardul Thakur (traded), Sherfane Rutherford (traded), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Danish Malewar (Rs 30 lakh), Quinton de Kock (INR 1 Cr), Atharva Ankolekar (Rs 30 lakh), Mayank Rawat (Rs 30 lakh), Mohammad Izhar (Rs 30 lakh).