IPL 2026 Mini Auction: 5 Star Players Likely to Go Unsold Despite High Base Prices

The IPL 2026 auction is going to be held in a few days. A total of 1355 players have registered for this auction. Many franchises have retained their key players. Due to this, only a few stars have come into the auction. Teams do not need to develop from scratch, so they will show interest in filling the gaps.

Players like Cameron Green, Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer will be in high demand. In this situation, some popular players are likely to go unsold (IPL Unsold players). Let's now see who are the 5 players who went unsold this time based on form, availability, and past auctions.

• Steve Smith (Australia): Steve Smith is also likely to go unsold. He has gone unsold in four consecutive auctions. He has been out of the IPL since 2021. His T20 approach does not suit the fast-paced scoring style that modern teams want from their middle-order batsmen. In 2025, he managed just 137 runs at an average of 19.57 and a strike rate of 129.24. These numbers are unlikely to attract bidders.
• Sarfaraz Khan (India): Sarfaraz Khan is perhaps the only Indian player who has failed to attract a bidder. He has not appeared in the IPL since 2023. He went unsold in the last two IPL auctions. He played only two T20 matches in 2025. Despite scoring a century recently, it was against Team of the Week Assam in domestic cricket and went unrecognized. This did not change the opinion of the franchises. In the 2025 T20Is, Sarfaraz scored 152 runs at an average of 152 and a strike rate of 174.71. His overall career average of 24.81 and a strike rate of 132.28 turned negative.
• Devon Conway (New Zealand): Devon Conway's T20 form has declined in the last two years. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also released him. Teams are now looking for explosive openers. Conway's strike rate will reduce his chances. In 2025, Conway scored 830 runs at an average of 30.74 and a strike rate of 122.78. While these numbers are good, they may not be enough to stand out in the high-demand auction.
• Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand): New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell was bought by CSK for Rs 14 crore in 2024. But Mitchell has not performed much since then. He went unsold in last year's mega auction. He may have to face the same situation again. In 2025, he scored 779 runs in T20 cricket at an average of 28.85 and a strike rate of 138.61. In bowling, he took 6 wickets at an average of 36 and an economy of 10.45. These numbers do not give much confidence to the franchises.
• Josh Inglis (Australia): Josh Inglis is a powerful striker, but his availability is reducing his chances. He will be available for only four matches in IPL 2026. Not many teams are interested in buying him even for a base price of Rs. 2 crore. Because they will have to replace him immediately. Inglis scored 483 runs in 2025. His average is 26.83, and his strike rate is 164.84.