Published: February 24, 2026 | Category: IPL News | Reading Time: 7 minutes
The dust has finally settled on the IPL 2026 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi, with all 10 franchises successfully filling their 25-member quotas. By the end of the evening, 77 players had found new homes under the hammer, but the event will be largely remembered for a series of historic paychecks and a few unexpected omissions.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) entered the auction room with clear intent and left having fundamentally altered the market. In a landmark move, KKR secured the services of Australian all-rounder Cam Green for a staggering INR 25.2 crore, officially making him the most expensive overseas signing in the history of the Indian Premier League. The franchise's aggressive strategy didn't stop there; they also heavily invested in their pace attack, shelling out INR 18 crore for Matheesha Pathirana and winning a tense bidding war against the Delhi Capitals to land Mustafizur Rahman for INR 9.20 crore.
While KKR focused on established international stars, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made headlines by heavily rewarding unproven domestic talent. The franchise handed out unprecedented contracts to allrounder Prashant Veer and wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma, securing both players for INR 14.20 crore each. This massive investment etched the duo's names into the record books as the richest uncapped players in the tournament's long history.
The auction dynamics also sparked fierce bidding wars for several highly coveted assets. Liam Livingstone, entering with a base price of INR 2 crore, ignited a frantic four-way battle involving KKR, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The intense back-and-forth finally concluded when SRH placed a winning bid of INR 13 crore, just as LSG entirely ran out of their available purse. Similarly, Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis saw his base price of INR 2 crore quickly escalate, eventually going to LSG for INR 8.60 crore after they outbid Hyderabad.
However, the evening was equally defined by the players who failed to attract interest from the franchises. High-profile international names like Taskin Ahmed, Alzarri Joseph, and Jake Fraser-McGurk shockingly went unsold. On the domestic front, recognized Indian batters like Deepak Hooda and Prithvi Shaw repeatedly found no bidders during the earlier rounds. Shaw was eventually thrown a lifeline in the accelerated round, returning to the Delhi Capitals for his modest base price of INR 75 lakh.
Key Takeaways
- What was the reason behind the record-breaking Cam Green bid?
- How did uncapped players become the richest signings for CSK?
- Which major international stars unexpectedly went unsold at the auction?