The recently concluded IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi saw a total of 77 players being sold out of the 360-plus shortlisted candidates. The franchises collectively spent a whopping â‚ą215.45 crore on acquiring players for the upcoming season. The highlight of the auction was Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who emerged as the most expensive buy, fetching a staggering â‚ą25.20 crore from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Despite this hefty price tag, Green will be paid â‚ą18 crore in accordance with the maximum fee rule.
KKR, with a significant purse of â‚ą64.30 crore, made another big splash by securing the services of Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for â‚ą18 crore. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) surprised many by picking uncapped Indians Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer for â‚ą14.2 crore each. On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) added English all-rounder Liam Livingstone to their roster for â‚ą13 crore.
In terms of capped Indian players, the auction saw some interesting moves. Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi, who were released by their respective franchises, were picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) for â‚ą7 crore and â‚ą7.2 crore, respectively. CSK secured leg spinner Rahul Chahar for â‚ą5.20 crore, while Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw were snapped up at their base price of â‚ą75 lakh by CSK and Delhi Capitals (DC) respectively.
The list of capped Indian players bought at the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi includes Ravi Bishnoi (â‚ą7.2 crore) to Rajasthan Royals, Venkatesh Iyer (â‚ą7 crore) to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rahul Chahar (â‚ą5.20 crore) to Chennai Super Kings, Akash Deep (â‚ą1 crore) to Kolkata Knight Riders, Sarfaraz Khan (â‚ą75 lakh) to Chennai Super Kings, Prithvi Shaw (â‚ą75 lakh) to Delhi Capitals, Rahul Tripathi (â‚ą75 lakh) to Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Sen (â‚ą75 lakh) to Rajasthan Royals, and Shivam Mavi (â‚ą75 lakh) to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Looking ahead, the IPL 2026 season is expected to kick off from March 26 to May 31, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru defending their title after clinching their maiden championship earlier this year. Stay tuned for more updates on IPL 2025, live scores, predictions, match schedules, points table, results, and squads of teams like CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, and PBKS.
