IPL 2026 Mega Auction: Who Went Sold, Who Remained Unsold Revealed
From record-breaking bids to surprises in unsold players, IPL 2026 auction reveals full details on salaries, teams, and strategies for next season.
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The IPL 2026 mini-auction took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and the event did not fail to surprise with the enormous amount of bids as well as the unexpected player movements. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were the center of attention due to the signing of the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green for a whopping Rs 25.20 crore, which is the highest price paid for the entry of any overseas player in a franchise league globally.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) created a stir by bringing in the uncapped Indian players Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma at a cost of Rs 14.20 crore each. KKR showed interest in the Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana and were willing to pay Rs 18 crore. At the same time, unexpected things happened as famous players such as Liam Livingstone, Prithvi Shaw, and Sarfaraz Khan did not find any buyers at the auction.
Different teams had different budgets going into the mini-auction. KKR was on top with the biggest budget of Rs 64.30 crore while CSK had Rs 43.40 crore. The next season of IPL will be from March 26 to May 31, 2026.
Notable Sold Players and Salaries
Cameron Green (KKR) – Rs 25.20 crore, Base Price Rs 2 crore
Prashant Veer (CSK) – Rs 14.20 crore, Base Price Rs 30 lakh
Kartik Sharma (CSK) – Rs 14.20 crore, Base Price Rs 30 lakh
Matheesha Pathirana (KKR) – Rs 18 crore, Base Price Rs 2 crore
Venkatesh Iyer (RCB) – Rs 7 crore, Base Price Rs 2 crore
Ravi Bishnoi (RR) – Rs 7.20 crore, Base Price Rs 2 crore
Jason Holder (GT) – Rs 7 crore, Base Price Rs 2 crore
Auqib Dar (DC) – Rs 8.40 crore, Base Price Rs 30 lakh
High expectations were not met concerning the players who did not get sold, among them were Devon Conway, Liam Livingstone, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, and Wiaan Mulder. The presentation of uncapped Indian players was big but they did not attract bidding, which is indicative of franchises' strategic choices to mix experience with potential.
Auction Highlights
KKR made a large investment by signing three top overseas players.
CSK concentrated on the best-performing uncapped Indian players.
Some teams went for cheaper players and thus popular names remained unsold.
The teams all had different strategies at the auction. KKR was all about high-profile signings while CSK was all about young talents for IPL 2026. This trend of balancing experience with potential in the competitive league is getting more and more common.
Players Who Did Not Get Sold (Selected List)
Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Liam Livingstone, Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Gus Atkinson, Rachin Ravindra, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Henry, Maheesh Theekshana, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Hooda.
The 2026 auction has raised the player valuations especially for the uncapped Indian talent and the overseas stars. The IPL 2026 is only a few months away, and the franchises are already getting ready for a season full of record-breaking performances and exciting matches.
