Cameron Green’s Record Price to Massive Pay Cuts: 5 Key Takeaways from IPL 2026 Auction

The IPL 2026 Abu Dhabi auction saw record deals, with KKR buying Cameron Green for INR 25.2 crore. Uncapped Indian players earned big, while several stars went unsold or faced pay cuts as teams prioritized roles and squad balance over reputation.

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Key Highlights from Thrilling IPL 2026 Auction

The IPL 2026 Mini-Auction concluded after a long and intense bidding war among the franchises in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. All 10 franchises vied for the international stars, experienced campaigners, and domestic talents to bolster their squads for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, which is likely to take place in March.

The franchises splurged a total of INR 215.45 crore out of 237.55 crore on 77 players to fill the available slots, leaving just INR 22.1 crore unused, as teams balanced their remaining budgets while targeting a mix of big names and emerging talents for the IPL 2026.

On that note, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the IPL 2026 Auction in Abu Dhabi.

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1. Cameron Green's Record-Breaking Acquisition by KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders broke the bank to acquire the services of an Australian all-rounder for a whopping INR 25.2 crore at the IPL 2026 Auction. The KKR was involved in an intense bidding war with the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings before snapping Cameron Green for a record-breaking deal that grabbed headlines.

Entering the auction at a base price of INR 2 crore, Cameron Green eventually eclipsed compatriot Mitchell Starc’s record price of INR 24.75 crore to become the most expensive overseas player and the third costliest player in the history of IPL, behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore). This marked the third consecutive time Kolkata bid over INR 20 crore for a player, following Starc in 2023 and Venkatesh Iyer (INR 23.75 crore) in the 2024 auction.

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2. Uncapped Indian Talents Command Big Money

The recently concluded auction witnessed a massive interest from franchises in uncapped Indian talent. The uncapped Indian players are domestic talents who have yet to represent India at the international level but have consistently performed well in domestic cricket. The first uncapped player to grab attention was Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Dar, who was acquired by Delhi Capitals for a whopping INR 8.4 crore.

Thereafter, Chennai Super Kings made a huge statement by acquiring the services of two domestic talents, Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, for INR 14.2 crore each, making them the joint-most expensive Indian uncapped players in IPL history. Then, Royal Challengers Bengaluru acquired left-arm spinner Mangesh Yadav for INR 5.2 crore. 

Other uncapped Indian players, Tejasvi Singh (INR 3 crore), Mukul Choudhary (INR 2.6 crore), Akshat Raghuvanshi (INR 2.2 crore), Salil Arora (INR 1.5 crore), and Naman Tiwari (INR 1 crore), who all started at an INR 30 lakh base price and eventually earned contracts from the respective franchises worth crores.

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3. Overseas Players Spark Windfall Deals

Overseas players have often been a draw at the IPL auction, given their international experience and impact across formats. This time, it was no different, as several foreign stars received windfall deals and late bidding interest. Apart from Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana attracted interest from the teams before being sold to KKR for INR 18 crore, followed by Liam Livingstone, who was acquired by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 13 crore.

Apart from them, the likes of Josh Inglis (INR 8.6 crore), Mustafizur Rahman (INR 9.2 crore), Jason Holder (INR 7 crore), Ben Dwarshuis (INR 4.4 crore), and Pathum Nissanka (INR 4 crore), also found buyers at healthy prices. Some of them managed to find buyers late in the auction after going unsold in the initial round of the Abu Dhabi event.

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4. Roles Over Reputations

The franchises entered the auction with a strategy and the roles required to fill the gaps in the team ahead of the IPL 2026. It was reflected in the way the teams were prioritising specific skill sets and role-based players over big names. Given the limited purse after retaining a chunk of core players, the franchises were focused on making smart, value-for-money buys to build balanced squads rather than splurging on reputation alone.

The likes of Devon Conway, Jonny Bairstow, Steve Smith, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Gerald Coetzee, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Alzarri Joseph, and Jamie Smith went unsold, underlining how teams prioritised the role fit and balance over the reputation of certain players.

The Indian players, Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw, went unsold in the initial phase of the auction before they were acquired by CSK and Delhi Capitals at a base price of INR 75 lakh each in the accelerated round, emphasising the franchises' patience over bidding pressure.

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5. Massive Pay Cuts

Apart from record-breaking bids from the franchise for their targeted players’ acquisition, several established names took massive pay cuts, with the franchises renegotiating their value based on current form, role requirements, and squad balance, while looking at their remaining purse rather than past price tags. 

The all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer suffered one of the biggest pay cuts of the event, dropping from an INR 23.75 crore deal with Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous season to just INR 7 crore when Royal Challengers Bengaluru snapped him, which is a 70% drop.

Apart from Ventakesh, other players, including Akash Deep (INR 8 crore to 1 crore), David Miller (INR 7.5 crore to INR 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (INR 6.5 crore to 2 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (INR 5.25 crore to 2 crore), and Quinton de Kock (INR 3.6 crore to 1 crore), also witnessed sharp reductions in their auction prices, highlighting the franchises’ shift from big-name spending to budget-conscious.