Abu Dhabi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 player auction started on a dull note in the uncapped players’ category, but Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma then scripted history as Chennai Super Kings roped them in for a record price of Rs. 14.20 crore each.
It all started with the uncapped batters category, but to everyone’s surprise, all six players in the list went unsold. The list included Aarya Desai, Yash Dhull, Abhinav Manohar, Anmolpreet Singh, Atharva Taide, and Abhinav Tejrana.
However, what followed next was an unexpected bidding war for Auqib Dar, a Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder who bagged an extraordinary deal of Rs. 8.4 crore from the Delhi Capitals as the franchise beat Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and SunRisers Hyderabad to win the tense battle.
Then came Prashant Veer, who stole the limelight by attracting the interest of five teams, only to be eventually purchased by five-time champions CSK.
Among all-rounders, Shivang Kumar was only the third cricketer from the list to attract a bid, Rs. 30 lakh from SRH, as all other players- Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tanush Kotian, Mahipal Lomror, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Sanvir Singh, and Eden Tom remained unsold.
Among wicketkeeper batters, Kartik was the one who made headlines as five teams- MI, LSG, KKR, SRH, and CSK- raised the bar high. The Rajasthan power-hitter matched Veer’s sum to enter the history books as the Men in Yellow got him.
All-rounder Veer and wicketkeeper-batter Kartik surpassed Avesh Khan to become the most expensive uncapped buys in the history of the tournament. At the IPL 2023 auction, Avesh was roped in by the Lucknow Super Giants for a sum of Rs. 10 crore, which made him the most expensive uncapped player.
However, the 2026 edition of the auction saw CSK breaking the bank for the uncapped duo of Veer and Kartik, as each bagged a Rs. 14.20 crore deal from the five-time champions.
Among Keepers, Mukul Choudhary (Rs. 2.6 Cr) and Tejasvi Singh (Rs. 3 Cr) were roped in by LSG and KKR, respectively, while Ruchit Ahir, Vansh Bedi, and Tushar Raheja went unsold.
Next up were the bowlers, among whom fast bowlers Sushant Mishra (RR), Ashok Sharma (GT), Naman Tiwari (LSG), and Kartik Tyagi (KKR) received their respective contracts.
Then, three out of seven uncapped spinners- Yash Raj Punja (RR), Vignesh Puthur (RR), and Prashant Solanki (KKR) attracted bids. IPL veteran Karn Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, Shivam Shukla, and Afghanistan’s Wahidullah Zadran, meanwhile, remained unsold.
(IANS)
