The countdown to the IPL 2026 mini-auction has officially begun, with franchises finalizing their strategies for the event scheduled on December 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi. With the retention window now closed, teams are treating this as an important opportunity to plug squad gaps and fine-tune their rosters before the new season.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians enter the auction with vastly different financial muscle. KKR holds the largest purse of the event at ₹64.30 crore, giving them flexibility to fill their 13 open slots, which include six overseas positions.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Mumbai Indians have the tightest budget, with just ₹2.75 crore remaining to fill five spots. Having done the bulk of their work in the trading window by acquiring Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford, the five-time champions will likely be spectators for the marquee bids, focusing instead on low-cost domestic talent.
The biggest narrative of the pre-auction window was the blockbuster trade between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. CSK parted ways with veterans Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, who were both acquired by the Royals, while Sanju Samson moved the other way to don the yellow jersey.
Following these moves, CSK enters the auction with a healthy purse of ₹43.40 crore and nine available slots to build around their new additions. Rajasthan Royals, now bolstered by Jadeja and Curran, have a remaining purse of ₹16.05 crore to fill nine spots, looking primarily for balance rather than big-ticket signings.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, fresh off their 2025 title win, enter with a retained core and a purse of ₹16.40 crore. With eight slots open, their focus will be on finding replacements for released players like Liam Livingstone and Josh Hazlewood, specifically targeting an overseas all-rounder and a pacer.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, holding ₹25.50 crore and ten open slots, will be hunting for depth. After trading Mohammed Shami to Lucknow, their priority will be securing an experienced seamer to partner captain Pat Cummins and bolstering their spin department.
Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings find themselves in the middle of the pack financially but with distinct squad needs. Delhi, with ₹21.80 crore, needs to address the top-order void left by the release of Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, likely targeting an explosive overseas opener.
Punjab Kings, having retained a massive core of 21 players, have the luxury of a quiet auction. With ₹11.50 crore, they only need to fill four slots, allowing them to bid aggressively for one or two specific impact players to complement their existing setup.
Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants enter with more modest purses of ₹12.90 crore and ₹22.95 crore respectively. Gujarat, having retained their top-order heavyweights like Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, will focus on middle-order reinforcements.
Lucknow, meanwhile, has six slots to fill and will likely target a spinner to replace Ravi Bishnoi and an overseas finisher to support Nicholas Pooran. Both franchises are expected to prioritize value buys over bidding wars.
The player pool itself is stacked, featuring 350 cricketers. The highest base price bracket of ₹2 crore includes heavyweights like Cameron Green, Steve Smith, David Miller, and Indian stars Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi. With the dynamics of a mini-auction often leading to inflated prices for specific roles, the stage is set for intense bidding wars in Abu Dhabi as teams look to secure the final pieces of their IPL 2026 puzzles.
The auction would be held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, UAE at 2:30 PM IST, and will be streamed on the IPL website and the JioHotstar app.
