The IPL 2026 auction, one of the most-awaited events of the year, will take place in Abu Dhabi today. The bidding wars will begin at 2:30 PM IST. Some of the biggest names in Indian cricket, along with overseas players and some young uncapped cricketers, will grab the spotlight at the IPL 2026 auction. A total of 350 players will go under the hammer, as 10 IPL franchises look to fill a total of 77 available slots, combined. Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, many top players were released by their franchises. Notable examples include CSK releasing Matheesha Pathirana, RCB parting ways with Liam Livingstone and KKR letting go of one of the most expensive all-rounders in Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell. The latter, however, retired from the IPL and will be seen as KKR’s power batting coach in IPL 2026. 350 players to go under the hammer A total of 350 players will go under the hammer at the IPL 2026 auction. This includes 240 Indians and 110 overseas players. Also, there would be a total of 224 uncapped Indians and 14 uncapped overseas cricketers. A total of 40 players have the highest base price of Rs 2 crore. IPL 2026 auction remaining purse KKR have the highest purse heading into the IPL 2026 auction at Rs 64.30 crore. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, will have the lowest purse (Rs 2.75 crore) available. Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone and other overseas stars to watch out for Cameron Green is among the top overseas cricketers who will be expected to attract a lot of interest at the IPL 2026 auction. The Australian all-rounder has previously featured for the Mumbai Indians and RCB. Liam Livingstone, one of the most explosive T20 all-rounders, will also be a player to watch out for. Teams are also expected to show interest in signing Matheesha Pathirana. Uncapped Indians who can attract big bids Many uncapped Indian players are expected to attract huge interest at the auction. Wicketkeeper-batters Tushar Raheja and 19-year-old Kartik Sharma are among them. Also, pacer Ashok Sharma, who has been in good form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season, might attract interest as well. Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi will also be one to watch out for. What happened at last year’s IPL mega auction? Rishabh Pant shattered the record last year, becoming the most expensive player in IPL history when Lucknow Super Giants splashed Rs 27 crore to secure his services. Shreyas Iyer, the IPL 2024-winning captain, was signed by Punjab Kings for a whopping sum of Rs 26.75 crore. Post navigation India South-Africa teams arrive in Lucknow:High security at hotel-stadium as tickets go on sale ahead of December 17 T20 Despite 80% win rate in T20s matches:Why is Gautam Gambhir under fire? Are the head coach’s unusual experiments damaging Team India?
