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 ₹215.45 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 ₹25.20 crore from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Despite this hefty price tag, Green will be paid ₹18 crore in accordance with the maximum fee rule.
KKR, with a significant purse of ₹64.30 crore, made another big splash by securing the services of Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for ₹18 crore. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) surprised many by picking uncapped Indians Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer for ₹14.2 crore each. On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) added English all-rounder Liam Livingstone to their roster for ₹13 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 ₹7 crore and ₹7.2 crore, respectively. CSK secured leg spinner Rahul Chahar for ₹5.20 crore, while Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw were snapped up at their base price of ₹75 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 (₹7.2 crore) to Rajasthan Royals, Venkatesh Iyer (₹7 crore) to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rahul Chahar (₹5.20 crore) to Chennai Super Kings, Akash Deep (₹1 crore) to Kolkata Knight Riders, Sarfaraz Khan (₹75 lakh) to Chennai Super Kings, Prithvi Shaw (₹75 lakh) to Delhi Capitals, Rahul Tripathi (₹75 lakh) to Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Sen (₹75 lakh) to Rajasthan Royals, and Shivam Mavi (₹75 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.
