The IPL 2026 auctionahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League season, will be held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Fans can watch the IPL 2026 auction on live streaming and telecast in India. The Indian Premier League mini-auction starts at 2:30 PM IST.
A total of 359 players – 246 Indians and 113 overseas players – will be part of the IPL 2026 auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
As per the IPL rules, each team can register a maximum squad size of 25. The number of overseas cricket players in each team is capped to eight.
Unlike last edition’s mega auction, which allowed franchises to completely rebuild their squads, the upcoming IPL auction will be a mini variant, with most teams primarily focused on fine-tuning and filling specific gaps in their line-ups.
There are, however, exceptions with the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad set for a busy auction following disappointing seasons.
Two-time champions KKR will have the most work at hand with 13 slots to fill following the IPL 2026 retentions.
All teams have a combined remaining purse of ₹237.55 crore to spend at the 2026 IPL auction, with KKR alone having a warchest of ₹64.3 crore. CSK (₹43.40) and SRH (₹25.50) follow suit.
Mega-auction concepts like Right-to-Match (RTM) will also not feature in the upcoming mini-auction.
For the IPL 2026 auction, the 359 players have been grouped into 42 sets, classified by their primary disciplines – batters, bowlers, all-rounders and wicketkeepers – and by capped or uncapped status. Each set has been numbered, with the auction progressing sequentially.
Set 1 comprises capped batters and includes names such as Cameron Green, David Miller and Prithvi Shaw, while the first uncapped players appear in Set 6. Unlike a mega auction, there is no marquee set.
Players have been assigned a maximum base price of ₹2 crore and a minimum base price of ₹40 lakh.
The IPL 2026 auction will also introduce a salary cap for overseas players. The maximum fee payable will be the lower of two figures – the highest retention price (₹18 crore) or the highest bid from the previous mega auction.
With the top price at the IPL mega auction last year being ₹27 crore for Rishabh Pant paid by Lucknow Super Giants, the effective cap for international players in this auction is ₹18 crore. Any amount bid above that limit will be collected by the BCCI and redirected to its player development programme.
This will also mark the third straight year that the IPL auction is being conducted outside India, with Dubai playing host in 2024 and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah taking up the responsibility for the 2025 mega auction.
Where to watch IPL 2026 auction live in India
Live streaming of the IPL 2026 auction will be available to watch on the JioHotstar app and website. The 2026 Indian Premier League player auction will be telecast on the Star Sports Network TV channels in India.
