Teams have 77 slots to fill at the 2026 IPL auction, which will take place on December 16
Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer, Matheesha Pathirana and Wanindu Hasaranga are among 45
players that have listed the maximum reserve price of INR 2 crore to participate in the 2026 IPL auction.
A total of 1,355 players feature in the long list of players, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, which the IPL shared with
franchises on Monday after the registration deadline closed on November 30. With a maximum squad size of 25 per
franchise, a total of 77 slots are available to be filled at the auction, including 31 overseas players.
The list will be pruned by the IPL once they have received wishlists from all 10 franchises ahead of the day-long
auction which will take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16. The IPL has set December 5 as the deadline for franchises to
While Indian players with specialised skillsets will be in contention for big money, the central focus at the auction is
set to be on Australia's allrounder Green, who did not participate in the 2025 mega-auction as he was recovering from
back injury. Interest is likely to come from Kolkata Knight Riders (64.3 crore) and Chennai Super Kings (43.4 crore),
who have the strongest purses going into the auction, and both have a slot available for an overseas player.
KKR could be counted as a favourite to vie for Green, following this weekend's IPL retirement of West Indies' T20 great
Andre Russell. Green has the ability to slot in anywhere in the batting order, and is also a handy seamer as well as an
LSG set to retain Mayank but will release Bishnoi, Miller, Akash Deep
Livingstone set to be released by RCB
CSK to release Matheesha Pathirana
Venkatesh Iyer heads long list of big-ticket players released by KKR
Australia expects as Golden boy Green aims for Ashes peak
KKR released nine players, including Venkatesh Iyer whom they bought for a vast sum of 23.5 crore at the mega-auction
last year, and have 12 slots to fill, including six overseas. The second-highest purse is that of five-time champions
CSK, who have nine slots to fill, including four overseas players.
Several of the names that were recently released by franchises have listed themselves in the highest reserve price
bracket. This includes Sri Lanka fast bowler Pathirana, whom CSK had last year retained for 13 crore ahead of the mega
auction. Though he was their lead bowler in the second half of the innings, especially in the death overs, his struggles
with injury were a key reason for CSK's subsequent decision.
England allrounder Livingstone, who was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the mega-auction for 8.75 crore, lasted
just one season with the defending champions after a below-par performance.
The Indians that have listed in the 2 crore reserve price include Venkatesh - who had been bought back by KKR at the
mega-auction for 23.75 crore, using the right-to-match option - and Bishnoi, who was last year retained by Lucknow Super
Giants for 11 crore. However, weak year-on-year numbers during his four-year stint led LSG to release the legspinner.
One notable absentee from the longlist is Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell, whom Punjab Kings last year bought for
4.2 crore, making them the fourth franchise of his IPL career. However Maxwell, who is 37, sustained a fractured finger
midway through the 2025 season and was replaced by fellow Aussie allrounder Mitchell Owen, who has been retained by
Another Australian who played a key role in PBKS's run to the final is wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, but he too is
back in the auction pool. Though this move came as a surprise to many, it is understood that Inglis could not commit to
playing the entire 2026 season for personal reasons. On Monday, the IPL notified franchises that Inglis's availability
during 2026 season would be at 25%.
Base Price of 2 crore: Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Sean Abott, Ashton Agar, Cooper
Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Steve Smith, Mustafizur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Tom
Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Liam Livingstone, Tymal Mills, Jamie Smith, Finn Allen, Michael
Bracewell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Daryll Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Rachin
Ravindra, Gerald Coetzee, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Roussouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, David Wiese, Wanindu
Hasaranga, Mateesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo