IPL 2026 auction preview : Mini auction, but maximum buzz.

The IPL auction is that time of the year that generates buzz all throughout the year. This year ain't no different. With 350 players going under the hammer, the main focus will be on the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, who will battle it out as they have the maximum purse going into the auction.The auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.

A total of 1390 players registered for the Player Auction, out of which 350 players were shortlisted; 240 Indian and 110 are overseas recruits. Quinton De Kock, who is part of the South African squad in India, has made a re-entry and made himself available for the auction with a base price of 1 crore.

Among other new players are a bunch of Sri Lankans - Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera and Dunith Wellalage. According to the BCCI, the player auction will commence with a full round of capped players in the order of specialism - batter (BA1), all-rounders (AL1), wicket keeper/batter (WK1), fast bowlers (FA1), and spin bowlers (SP1) followed by a full specialism round of uncapped players (UBA1, UAL1, UWK1, UFA1, USP1 followed by UBA2 and UWK2)

With the retirements of Andre Russell and Glenn Maxwell, all eyes will be on Cameron Green, who will be on the radar of CSK and KKR. Marquee players like Venkatesh Iyer, De Kock, Jake Fraser McGurk, David Miller will be under the radar as it will be surprising to see who picks them to adjust their squad accordingly. 

The 10 IPL franchises collectively have a whopping Rs 237.55 crore to transact at the auction and with an eclectic mix of seasoned pros and fresh faces, another entertaining IPL 2026 mini auction beckons.The auction will begin at 2:30 PM IST (1 PM Local time) on December 16

Here is a list of new inclusions for IPL Mini auction 2026

Overseas players

Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa) Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies).

Indian players: 

Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya and Aman Shekawat.