Mumbai, December 15: The much-awaited player auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season will take place on Tuesday at the Etihad Arena. This will be the third consecutive year that the IPL auction is being held outside India.
Auction Time and Broadcast Details
Start time: 2:30 PM IST
Live streaming: JioHotstar app and website
TV telecast: Star Sports Network
Players and Squad Rules
A total of 359 players will be available in the auction pool.
Indian players: 246
Overseas players: 113
The 10 IPL franchises can fill up to 77 slots, including 31 overseas slots. As per league rules, each team can have a maximum squad size of 25 players, with no more than eight overseas players in a squad.
Mini Auction Format
Unlike the previous mega auction, the IPL 2026 auction will be a mini auction. Most teams are expected to focus on filling specific gaps rather than making major squad changes.
However, a few franchises are expected to be more active after below-par performances last season. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are likely to play a key role during the bidding.
KKR have the most work to do, with 13 vacant slots following retentions.
Team Budgets
All franchises together have ₹237.55 crore available to spend.
KKR: ₹64.3 crore
CSK: ₹43.40 crore
SRH: ₹25.50 crore
The Right-to-Match (RTM) option, used in mega auctions, will not be available.
Player Sets and Base Prices
The 359 players have been divided into 42 sets, based on roles such as batters, bowlers, all-rounders and wicketkeepers and on capped or uncapped status. The auction will move set by set, in order.
Set 1: Capped batters, including Cameron Green, David Miller and Prithvi Shaw
Uncapped players: Begin from Set 6
Base prices:
Minimum: ₹40 lakh
Maximum: ₹2 crore
There is no separate marquee set in this auction.
Overseas Player Salary Cap
A new rule places a salary cap on overseas players. The highest amount an international player can earn is ₹18 crore, which matches the top retention price.
Any bid above this limit will be collected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and used for player development programmes. This cap applies even though the highest bid in the last mega auction went up to ₹27 crore.
With limited slots and targeted requirements, the IPL 2026 mini auction is expected to be tactical, with franchises focusing on smart buys rather than big rebuilds.
