🏏IPL 2026 Mega Auction: The Battle for Cricket’s Brightest Stars🌟 - Page 3

IPL Auction LIVE: The clock is ticking. The IPL auction is almost here, and to spice up the occasion even further, league chairman Arun Dhumal is expected to make a massive announcement regarding the 18th season of the Indian Premier League.

Will Venkatesh Iyer hit the jackpot again?

PBKS’ costliest buys, season by season: the auction tells their whole personality

Hope sarfaraz bags big chunk

Verdant Trivedi GL

Vihaan Malhotra GL

Kundu GL

Khilan GL

*GoodLuck

De Kock, Miller headline Proteas power in auction!

South Africa’s ongoing T20I series against India has also turned the spotlight on a strong group of Proteas set to feature in the IPL 2026 auction. Veteran hitters Quinton de Kock and David Miller lead a 15-player contingent, offering firepower and big-match experience. The pace unit looks equally tempting, with Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee providing express speed and aggression, while Wiaan Mulder brings versatility as a seam-bowling all-rounder. With these players testing India in the current series, IPL franchises are closely tracking their performances, already weighing how to neutralise such threats when the auction table opens.

IPL Auction LIVE: All eyes on Matheesha Pathirana!

IPL Auction LIVE: Matheesha Pathirana is another big name, alongside Cameron Green, expected to attract massive bids at the IPL mini auction. His release by Chennai Super Kings came as a surprise, and the franchise could still look to bring him back. Teams such as Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad are also expected to enter the race. Although the right-arm pacer endured a relatively quiet season, his unique slingy action and ability to bowl at the death continue to make him one of the toughest bowlers to read in the shortest format, keeping his market value high.

KKR and CSK set to be the big guns!

IPL Auction LIVE: Kolkata Knight Riders will head into the auction with the strongest spending power, holding a massive purse of INR 64.3 crore — the highest among all franchises. The defending champions can fill up to 13 vacant slots, including six overseas positions, giving them plenty of flexibility. Chennai Super Kings are not far behind, entering the auction with INR 43.4 crore at their disposal. The five-time champions have a maximum of nine slots to fill, making them another key player expected to shape the dynamics of the auction with their significant financial room and targeted recruitment strategy.

For detailed information regarding the retentions ---

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/indian-premier-league/5378027/ipl-2026-retentions

Capped batters will come up for bidding in the first round. There are no marquee sets in a mini-auction.

Australia allrounder Cam Green has listed himself as a batter because of a manager stuff-up. He has confirmed that he'll be available to bowl during the season. Along with Green, Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller and Prithvi Shaw figure in the first set.

We are just a few minutes away from the mega auction here. The process began with a massive pool of 1,390 players who put their names forward. After the first round of scrutiny, the list was cut down to 1,005 cricketers. From there, franchises zeroed in on 369 shortlisted players who will go under the hammer. These names will compete for just 77 available slots across the 10 teams ahead of the 19th edition of the world’s biggest T20 league, with 31 of those positions reserved for overseas players, highlighting how fierce the competition is likely to be.

Bidding increments

• bids up to Rs. 100 lakh – increments of Rs. 5 lakh
• bids from Rs. 100 lakh up to Rs. 200 lakh – increments of Rs. 10 lakh
• bids from Rs. 200 lakh up to Rs. 300 lakh – increments of Rs. 20 lakh
• bids from Rs. 300 lakh – increments at the auctioneer’s discretion, but not less than Rs. 20 lakh

Malika is back to organise the Auction!

Mallika Sagar takes the centre stage here as she will be the auctioneer once again. She invites Arun Dhumal back on the stage for bail-picking to get the first set underway.