The time has arrived for the IPL 2026 franchises to finalize their squads at the much-anticipated mini-auction. With retentions made and scouting complete, teams are ready to deploy their remaining funds to fill crucial gaps.
Date, Time, and Venue –
The one-day event is set to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. The auction will commence at 1 pm local time, which is 2.30 pm IST.
Slots, Squads, and Player Pool –
A total of 77 slots are available across the 10 franchises, including 31 for overseas players. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have the most vacancies to fill with 13 spots, followed closely by Sunrisers Hyderabad with 10.
Franchises shortlisted 359 players for IPL 2026 from an initial longlist of 1355. This final pool includes 244 Indian players and 115 overseas cricketers. A maximum squad size of 25 is permitted, with a limit of eight overseas players per squad.
The available purse sizes for IPL 2026 vary dramatically. Kolkata Knight Riders lead the charge with the biggest purse of INR 64.30 crore (USD 7.1 million approx.), followed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with INR 43.40 crore (USD 4.8 million approx.).
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Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is expected to be the main attraction in IPL 2026 bid, with bids potentially soaring beyond INR 25 crore.
However, a crucial IPL “maximum-fee” rule applies to overseas players in a mini-auction, which caps their maximum earning at the lower value of the highest retention slab (INR 18 crore) or the highest price at the previous mega auction (INR 27 crore for Rishabh Pant). This means no overseas player, can take home more than INR 18 crore.
40 players, including Indians Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi, have listed themselves at the maximum base price of INR 2 crore.
Key Players and Auction Structure –
The auction will kick off with the first set of capped batters, a group that includes Green, Devon Conway, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, and Prithvi Shaw. The accelerated round, which covers the remaining players, will begin after the first 70 players have been presented.
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With big names like Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis missing from the registration for IPL 2026, the focus shifts to other match-winners like Liam Livingstone and uncapped talents such as Jammu & Kashmir all-rounder Auqib Nabi and Rajasthan fast bowler Ashok Sharma, who are highly rated by scouts.
A key point to note is the absence of the Right to Match (RTM) card option, which is not available in a mini-auction, adding an extra layer of competitive bidding.