IPL Auction 2026: Date, Top Players, and What To Expect

The IPL (Indian Premier League) auction is a traditional annual event that allows a team to trade and sign players to complete the squad for the upcoming IPL season. With the immense popularity of the league among cricket fans worldwide, this has quickly become one of the most influential events in India.

The auction follows a strict set of rules that make the trading and acquisition process fair and balanced, yet fun and exciting to follow. Ever since the IPL 2022 auction, they have somewhat been changed, as two new teams have entered the league.

We are close to new season of IPL 2026 which starts in March. The IPL auction is always fascinating to follow. So, if this is your first time tuning in to the action, you’re in luck! This is one of the most exciting auctions to date.

Learn more about the rules of the auction, the 2026 IPL auction date, the auction participants, and the potential leaders this season.

What Is the IPL Auction?

The IPL auction conducted by BCCI, or Board of Control for Cricket India, is an annual event, that aims to allow franchises to hire players that have put themselves up for the auction.

The event is overlooked by a specially-selected person – an auctioneer, who makes sure that all the rules of the proceedings are in check.

The players can be selected and traded only during this limited window of time, there is no way for franchisees to make a trade during the tournament itself. If the player had not been selected, they are often signed as a replacement to the core team.

The auction should end with each team having a roster of 18-25 players not counting the replacement players.

While the official part of the process lasts only a couple of days, there are months of preparations, strategy development, and negotiations before it. And it’s no wonder – the decisions made during this stage can impact the success of the team during the season.

In order to make the right decision, the team should consider the type of talent they want to focus on, the budget they need for the season, the statistics and history of each player and their interactions, recent injuries, how well they work with a particular coach and many more factors.

The IPL auction for the 2026 edition came with a set of rules and specifics that made the event even more crucial for any cricket fan out there. It is also important to watch if you want to predict the chances of winning of each of the teams, making it possible to win huge prizes from Parimatch.

Let’s learn more about the IPL 2026 mega auction rules and how it is expected to work this year.

IPL Auction 2026 Date, Format, and Process

The IPL Auction 2026 date and time were officially announced before the event. It was held on 16 December 2025. Fans are eagerly searching for the IPL auction 2026 players list to see which cricketers are available. It was a mini auction, which is conducted every year to help teams fine-tune their squads. Mini auctions focus on small but important changes, while mega auctions take place every three to four years and allow major team rebuilding.

The IPL 2026 auction date was set in advance to help teams prepare their strategies. Fans checked the IPL auction 2026 sold players list after each session.

During the auction, players were presented in different sets. Each team had a fixed budget and had to follow rules related to squad size and overseas players. Teams placed bids, and the player was sold to the highest bidder. Players who did not receive any bids were marked as unsold.

Additionally, teams have the Right-to-Match (RTM) option, allowing them to match the bid made by another team for a player they want to keep.

During the auction, the remaining players not retained or subject to RTM will be up for bidding. Teams take turns bidding on players, and the highest bidder secures the player for their squad.
Teams also have specific slots to fill in the auction for various player types, such as batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders. Tiebreakers come into play when bids are tied for a player, with the team’s finish in the previous IPL season determining the winner.

IPL Auction 2026 Teams

In 2026, ten teams participated in the IPL tournament. As the retention and release lists have already been composed and confirmed, let’s review the current IPL 2026 team sheets.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj

Released: Ravindra Jadeja, Andre Siddarth, Deepak Hooda, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Matheesha Pathirana, Sam Curran, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rahul Tripathi, Shaikh Rasheed, Vansh Bedi, Vijay Shankar

Gujarat Titans in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler* (ENG), Nishant Sindhu, Glenn Phillips* (NZ), Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada* (SA), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Rashid Khan* (AFG), Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav

Released: Sherfane Rutherford* (WI), Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat* (AFG), Dasun Shanaka* (SL), Gerald Coetzee* (SA), Kulwant Khejroliya

Lucknow Super Giants Franchise in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram* (SA), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke* (SA), Nicholas Pooran* (WI), Mitchell Marsh* (AUS), Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Mohammed Shami,

Released: Shardul Thakur, David Miller* (SA), Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, R Smaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari

Released: Mohammed Shami, Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar

Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal

Released: Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy

Released: Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Luvnith Sisodia, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Venkatesh Iyer

Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Nitish Rana, Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mukesh Kumar

Released: Donovan Ferreira, Darshan Nalkande, Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sediqullah Atal

Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks

Released: Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs, Karn Sharma, Lizaad Williams, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Reece Topley, Krishnan Shrijith, Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur

Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Singh

Released: Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Singh Rathore, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL Auction 2026

Retained: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Bethell, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh

Released: Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Bhandage, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee

The IPL Auction 2026 saw all ten teams follow targeted and budget-friendly strategies. Instead of big spending, franchises focused on smart squad building, backup players, and long-term planning. This approach made the 2026 auction more strategic and competitive.

IPL Auction 2026 Highest Price Players

The IPL Auction 2026 live was watched by millions of fans who were tracking each of the major bids. The IPL Auction 2026 saw a number of high bids being made with franchises bidding on impact players.

Each IPL auction 2026 update was hugely followed on social media. The highlight of the auction was the record bid of Cameron Green.

• Cameron Green became the IPL auction 2026 highest price player, with the Kolkata Knight Riders acquiring him for ₹25.20 crore at the Tata IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
• KKR also purchased Matheesha Pathirana for ₹18 crore.
• Pathum Nissanka, a Sri Lankan batter, was signed on for ₹4 crore.
• South African batter David Miller was bought at ₹2 crore.
• England Ben Duckett was also acquired at ₹2 crore.

IPL Auction 2026 live streaming was available on digital platforms. The list of players registered for IPL Auction 2026 featured many young prospects.

Team Strategies for Auction IPL 2026

The IPL auction was an anticipated event. Many fans searched for the IPL 2026 auction live today to catch real-time action. The IPL Auction 2026 released players list showed who was available for bidding. The IPL auction list helped teams plan their basis bidding strategy to increase the value.

Squad Analysis Before the Auction

Teams scrutinized the strengths and weaknesses of their squads before the auction. This enabled them to know the areas they had to improve in, like batters, bowlers, or all-rounders.

Use of Data and Scouting

Data analytics and intensive scouting were key to teams. The analysis of player statistics, recent form, fitness levels, and match impact was conducted to make more effective decisions.

Budget and Rule Management

Each team was allocated a certain overall budget, and it had to remain within the limits of squad size. There were also rules regarding the number of overseas players that were permitted by franchises. Creating a balanced team was achieved through smart budget planning.

Focus on Balance Over Big Names

Many teams aimed at having a balanced squad instead of just seeking the star players. This consisted of a combination of seasoned players and new talent.

IPL Auction: Conclusion

Today IPL auction updates created excitement among cricket fans. IPL Auction 2026 was a significant move towards gearing up teams for the next season. The mini auction took place on 16 December 2025 and enabled franchises to focus on weak areas without having to make significant changes.

Teams were strategic and planned with intelligent purchases such as Camroon Green, Auqib Dar, Pathum Nissanka, David Miller, and Ben Duckett. On the whole, the auction showed that preparation, data, and clever decision-making are critical to IPL success. IPL auction news continues to update fans about big bids, team strategies, and surprise picks.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of cricket or you’re just learning about the sport, the IPL auction is the event that everybody is always waiting for. Bookmark Parimatch or its app, analyze the TATA IPL Auction 2026 results, and prepare to make the winning predictions!

Watching the event also helps you get an idea of which team is more powerful this season, even including two new teams we know nothing about yet. So, if you want to make predictions on the upcoming matches on Parimatch, you should not miss the event. Don’t miss your chance to predict the matches in-play as they go on and prepare yourself for the IPL 2026!

FAQ

Where to watch IPL auction live?

In India, the auction IPL Auction 2026 was aired on Star Sports Network and on JioCinema / JioHotstar.

When auction will start for IPL 2026?

The mini auction of the IPL 2026 began on 16 December 2025 and is already over.

What is IPL mini auction?

In comparison with a mega auction, an IPL mini auction enables teams to purchase a specified number of players to complete any vacant slots in the squads following retentions.

How to watch IPL auction?

The IPL Auction 2026 was broadcast live on Star Sports (TV) and JioCinema/JioHotstar.

How many days is IPL auction 2026?

The IPL Auction 2026 was a one-day event, which was conducted on 16 December.

Will auction happen in 2026 IPL?

The IPL 2026 auction did take place and has ended successfully.

When is IPL auction 2026?

The IPL Auction 2026 was held on 16 December 2025.

IPL Auction 2026 where to watch?

The auction was available on Star Sports and streamed on JioCinema / JioHotstar.

Is there an IPL auction in 2026?

Yes, a mini auction for IPL 2026 was conducted ahead of the season.

What are the rules for auction 2026?

The IPL 2026 auction players list included both Indian and overseas talents. The teams were required to bid within a set amount of players salary, adhere to squad size restrictions, and bid on players who were listed in auction sets, which were defined.

What is the maximum bid for IPL auction 2026?

The maximum bid limit was not fixed, but there was a rule of maximum fee where amounts exceeding a certain level were subject to adjustment in accordance with the IPL regulations.

Who are the IPL auction sets list 2026?

The auction included set-wise shortlisted players, such as capped and uncapped Indian players, as well as overseas cricketers.

Is IPL sold unsold in 2026?

Yes, the IPL Auction 2026 did have sold and unsold players, and official lists were announced after the auction.

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