IPL 2026 Auction Preview: Purse Power, Star Picks, and Must-Watch Battles
The IPL 2026 auction is shaping up to be one of the most talked‑about events in recent T20 history, with franchises entering the room with aggressive purse strategies and some heavyweight names in the player pool. For a cricket fan or blogger, it offers a perfect mix of numbers, narratives, and future predictions to build engaging content around.
Auction date, venue and format
The IPL 2026 auction is scheduled for 16 December 2025 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, continuing the recent trend of hosting the event in Gulf venues rather than India. It will be a one‑day mini‑auction format, starting in the afternoon IST, with teams using this window to fine‑tune rather than completely rebuild their squads.
Each franchise can have a maximum of 25 players and a minimum of 18, with up to eight overseas cricketers allowed in a squad. This balance keeps the focus on Indian core depth while still leaving room for a few high‑impact foreign stars who can change games single‑handedly.
Team purse dynamics
Across the ten teams, the combined remaining purse is a little over ₹237 crore, which will be spent to fill around 70–80 vacant slots, making every bid extremely strategic. Kolkata Knight Riders reportedly enter with the strongest purse, roughly ₹64.3 crore, while Mumbai Indians have only about ₹2.75 crore, forcing them to be ultra‑selective.
This disparity in purse sizes will directly shape the bidding wars, with KKR and Chennai Super Kings (around ₹43.4 crore remaining) positioned to go hard for marquee names. On the other hand, sides with smaller purses will likely focus on value picks, role‑specific players, and late steals once the initial big‑money rush settles.
Purse strength by franchise
| Team | Approx. remaining purse (₹ crore) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 64.3 | Biggest purse, 13 slots including 6 overseas. |
| Chennai Super Kings | 43.4 | Strong kitty to refresh core in key areas. |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 25.5 | Enough to chase one marquee and multiple backups. |
| Rajasthan Royals | 16.05 | Mid‑range purse, likely tactical bets. |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 16.4 | Need bowling depth within a limited budget. |
| Punjab Kings | 11.5 | Retained a large core, room for a few impact buys. |
| Mumbai Indians | 2.75 | Lowest purse, will depend on smart bargain picks. |
Big‑ticket names to watch
The headline story of the 2026 auction is the stacked ₹2 crore base‑price bracket, featuring as many as 40+ players, including Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Devon Conway, Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer and Liam Livingstone. With several of these stars released after previous seasons, the auction becomes a second life for them and a chance for teams to correct earlier decisions.
Cameron Green is widely tipped to be the most expensive buy of the day, thanks to his rare all‑round package and age profile. Alongside him, power‑hitters like Livingstone and utility Indian options like Venkatesh Iyer and Bishnoi are expected to spark multi‑team bidding wars.
Emerging and uncapped talent
Apart from the headline international names, franchises have invested a lot of scouting resources into India’s domestic competitions ahead of this auction. Fast bowlers, wicketkeeper‑batters and spin‑allrounders are particularly in demand, as they offer flexibility in conditions ranging from slow Abu Dhabi surfaces to high‑scoring Indian venues.
Uncapped quicks such as Ashok Sharma and young keepers like Kartik Sharma have already been highlighted as names to watch, thanks to strong recent domestic numbers. These players may not start with high base prices, but intense competition for specific roles can quickly push their final bids into the multi‑crore bracket.
Key storylines for fans
Several narrative arcs add spice to the 2026 auction beyond just numbers and purse values. Star all‑rounder Glenn Maxwell opting out, Moeen Ali preferring PSL, and Andre Russell shifting into a power‑hitting coach role at KKR mark a clear generational shift in some squads.
At the same time, teams like KKR and CSK will try to blend new‑age T20 data‑driven decision making with their traditional scouting instincts to stay ahead of rivals. For fans, the real excitement lies in seeing which combination of marquee buys and unknown picks eventually turns into the next title‑winning XI once IPL 2026 begins.