The 2026 auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature 350 players. The Board of Control for Cricket in India shortlisted these players after an extensive consultation with the franchises. The auction for the upcoming IPL 2026 edition will be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
This year, a record number of players, 1390 to be exact, registered for the auction. Out of this, the BCCI shortlisted only 350 players, comprising 240 Indian and 110 overseas players. This player’s list has 224 uncapped Indian players and 14 uncapped overseas players. In this list, there are a few names, 35 to be exact, that were not part of the original list. The most surprising among these is the name of Quinton de Kock.
The wicketkeeper-batsman from South Africa was not on the original list. However, his name was added to the list on the insistence of a franchise. So, he was added in the third lot of wicketkeepers/batsmen.
The 33-year-old southpaw, Quinton de Kock, had a change of heart after choosing not to play in the IPL. However, this is quite understandable as he came out of international retirement recently and scored a century against India in the third ODI. One thing to note here is that he has dropped his base price to INR 1 crore from INR 2 crore from the previous mega auction. In that auction, he went to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the base price of INR 2 crore. He had an underwhelming season with KKR, and that is why the franchise decided to release him.
The list also features a few new players from Sri Lanka, including Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera, and Dunith Wellalage.
According to a BCCI mail to franchises on December 8, “The auction will feature 350 players and will commence at 1 pm UAE time (2.30 PM IST) on Tuesday, 16 December, at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi.”
According to this, the auction will begin with a full round of capped players in the order of specialism. This includes batter (BA1), all-rounders (AL1), wicket keeper/batter (WK1), fast bowlers (FA1), and spin bowlers (SP1).
Players like Cameron Green and Venkatesh Iyer are going to be in high demand because of their all-round ability.
There will be an accelerated process after player number 70. “For your planning purposes, please note, subject to timings, it is envisaged that the accelerated process will start after player No 70,” said BCCI in a mail.
“The first accelerated will cover all the players from 71-350. Once these players have been presented, franchises will be requested to submit the names of the players (unpresented and unsold) from all those on the full list of 350 for further accelerated presentation,” the BCCI said.
The 10 IPL franchises will collectively have INR 235.55 crore to spend on the players. The 2026 IPL auction will begin at 2:30 PM IST (1 PM Local time) on December 16.
Here is the list of new inclusions in this list.
Overseas players: Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa) Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies).
Indian players: Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya, and Aman Shekawat.
