The countdown has started. Every other Indian Premier League franchises has been going through their last minutes preparations. The auction is supposed to be a mini auction. But the hype around it already is beyond imagination. Along with many international star players, this auction can be very crucial for multiple uncapped Indian players also who performed well in domestic cricket in the recent past. The stage is now all set for the upcoming season. All teams have submitted their lists of retained and released players to the IPL Governing Council. All eyes are now on the mini auction scheduled for December 16th.
IPL 2026 mini auction date
The mini auction for IPL 2026 will take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16th. It will be completed in a single day and will begin at 2:30 PM IST. Since this is a mini auction, teams will not be able to use the Right to Match (RTM) option.
A total of 359 players have been shortlisted for the IPL 2026 auction. Of these, only 77 players can be purchased by all teams combined. Of these 77 players, 31 are foreign players. Notably, a total of 40 players have registered for the auction with a base price of ₹2 crore (approximately $20 million). These include India’s Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
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In the IPL, a team can field a maximum of 25 players in its squad, with a minimum of 18. Furthermore, an IPL team can field a maximum of eight foreign players, of whom only four can play in the playing eleven.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have the most money remaining for the IPL auction. KKR has a total of ₹64.30 crore. Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings have ₹43.40 crore. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians have the least amount of money remaining for the auction, with ₹2.750 crore.