IPL 2026 mini auction unfolded at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16, drawing global attention as franchises vied for 77 slots with a combined purse of ₹237.55 crore. Amid record buys like Cameron Green to KKR for ₹25.20 crore and Matheesha Pathirana to the same team for ₹18 crore, numerous high-profile players failed to attract bids, reshaping narratives around team priorities. This event, featuring 359 shortlisted players from 1390 registrants, highlighted strategic purse management post-retentions, with uncapped Indians stealing the spotlight over veterans.
Youth takes center stage in IPL 2026 mini auction
Franchises displayed a clear pivot from veteran superstars to young, uncapped Indian talents, reflecting long-term squad-building amid tight budgets. Chennai Super Kings set records by splurging ₹14.20 crore each on uncapped prospects Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, the joint-highest for domestics in IPL history, signalling faith in future stars over established names. Teams like KKR and RCB prioritized balanced units with emerging pacers and all-rounders, while Mumbai Indians, with just ₹2.75 crore left, focused on trades like Sherfane Rutherford to bolster depth without heavy auction spends.
This youth influx aligns with recent trends, where 224 uncapped Indians dominated the pool, outnumbering overseas options and forcing captains to bet on domestic potential for consistency in IPL 2026. Purse leaders like KKR (₹64.3 crore pre-auction) restructured aggressively post release of Venkatesh Iyer, who later fetched only ₹7 crore at RCB, underscoring the devaluation of underperformers.
Unexpected twist at IPL 2026 mini auction as star players go unsold
The auction delivered jaw-dropping twists, with England‘s Liam Livingstone (₹2 crore base) and Prithvi Shaw (₹75 lakh) among stars who stunned fans by going unsold despite hype. Livingstone, expected as an all-rounder fix, drew zero interest initially, while Shaw’s domestic form failed to sway bidders amid strategic oversights. New Zealand opener Devon Conway (₹2 crore) and Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (₹2 crore) also missed out, echoing past mini-auctions where timing trumped reputation.
Other surprises included South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee (₹2 crore) and Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana (₹2 crore), overlooked as teams chased pacers like Anrich Nortje (₹2 crore to LSG). Jake Fraser-McGurk‘s unsold fate at the opener slot amplified the chaos, with franchises citing form dips and role mismatches. These moments, amid bidding wars for Ravi Bishnoi (₹7.20 crore to RR), exposed IPL’s ruthless evolution.
Complete list of unsold players along with their base price in the IPL 2026 mini auction
Batters
- Jake Fraser-McGurk – ₹2 crore
- Devon Conway – ₹2 crore
- Atharva Taide – ₹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 Farooqi – ₹1 crore
- Maheesh Theekshana – ₹2 crore
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman – ₹2 crore
- Raj Limbani – ₹30 lakh
- Simarjeet Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Akash Madhwal – ₹30 lakh
- Wahidullah Zadran – ₹30 lakh
- Shivam Shukla – ₹30 lakh
- Karn Sharma – ₹50 lakh
- Kartikeya Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Chetan Sakariya – ₹75 lakh
- Waqar Salamkheil – ₹1 crore
- KM Asif – ₹40 lakh
- Murugan Ashwin – ₹30 lakh
- Tejas Baroka – ₹30 lakh
- KC Cariappa – ₹30 lakh
- Mohit Rathee – ₹30 lakh
- Taskin Ahmed – ₹75 lakh
- Richard Gleeson – ₹75 lakh
- Alzarri Joseph – ₹2 crore
- Riley Meredith – ₹1.5 crore
- Jhye Richardson – ₹1.5 crore
- Irfan Umair – ₹30 lakh
- Mayank Dagar – ₹30 lakh
- Jikku Bright – ₹30 lakh
- Izaz Sawariya – ₹30 lakh
- Money Grewal – ₹30 lakh
- RS Ambrish – ₹30 lakh
All-rounders
- Gus Atkinson – ₹2 crore
- Wiaan Mulder – ₹1 crore
- Deepak Hooda – ₹75 lakh
- Vijay Shankar – ₹30 lakh
- Rajvardhan Hangargekar – ₹40 lakh
- Mahipal Lomror – ₹50 lakh
- Eden Tom – ₹30 lakh
- Tanush Kotian – ₹30 lakh
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti – ₹30 lakh
- Sanvir Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Sean Abbott – ₹2 crore
- Michael Bracewell – ₹2 crore
- Daryl Mitchell – ₹2 crore
- Dasun Shanaka – ₹75 lakh
- Dan Lawrence – ₹2 crore
- Tanay Thyagarajan – ₹30 lakh
- Nathan Smith – ₹75 lakh
- Karan Lal – ₹30 lakh
- Utkarsh Singh – ₹30 lakh
- Ayush Vartak – ₹30 lakh
- Manisankar Murasingh – ₹30 lakh
- Macneil Noronha – ₹30 lakh
- Siddharth Yadav – ₹30 lakh
- Ritik 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
