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The IPL 2026 auction that will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi is shaping up to be a major carnival with as many as 45 players opting for the highest reserve price bracket of INR 2 crore. Some of the bright names among them are Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer, Matheesha Pathirana, and Wanindu Hasaranga.
But one of the most significant issues is, however, Glenn Maxwell’s absence. The 37 year old Australian allrounder who played for Punjab Kings and was signed with a price of INR 4.2 crore last season has decided not to participate after he broke his finger in the 2025 tournament. Maxwell was succeeded in the middle of the season by Mitchell Owen who is currently retained by PBKS.
Besides that, there is another incident where Moeen Ali has withdrawn his name suggesting that his priority would be the Pakistan Super League over the IPL. The veteran IPL star, Andre Russell, is going to be a non playing member of the squad this season as he has announced his IPL retirement and will join Kolkata Knight Riders as a “power coach”.
The longlist for the auction is a huge one with 1355 registered players from which franchises have to fill 77 total squad slots including 31 overseas positions. The final shortlist of the teams will be submitted on December 5, after that, the IPL will trim down the pool of players for the auction.
It is highly likely that a lot of pressure will be on Cameron Green from Australia. The reason why he was not present at the 2025 mega auction is that he had a back injury. KKR and CSK have a lot of money at their disposal and are both capable of bidding for Green but the most probable outcome is that KKR will be the winning party. The main reason is that after Russell’s departure KKR needs Green more than ever. As Green can do the finishing part of the batting, provide the team with another seam bowler and take some of the catching duties in the field he is undoubtedly very valuable.
There are several recently released players who have also reached the highest price bracket. For example, Matheesha Pathirana whom CSK had retained for ₹13 crore last year but let go due to recurring injuries. Livingstone as well is back into the pool after a poor season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In a move that no one saw coming, Josh Inglis, a player without whom PBKS would not have been able to achieve their success in 2025, has also listed himself for the auction but due to personal commitments, he can only be available for 25% of the season.
Among the prominent ones, the full ₹2 crore base price list has Steve Smith, Mustafizur Rahman, Finn Allen, Gerald Coetzee, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, and Jason Holder to name a few.
