Big news has come out regarding the auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The auction and venue of IPL 2026 have been revealed. The auction of IPL 2026 will be held on 16th December in Abu Dhabi. This will be the third consecutive year when the IPL auction will be held outside India.
Official announcement about IPL 2026 auction
In the year 2024, the auction was held in Dubai, which was the first time that it was held on a foreign soil. After this, the two-day mega auction of the 2025 season was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in November 2024.
The retention list will be announced on November 15
The IPL 2026 auction will be a one-day affair, as with every mini-auction. All franchises must submit their final list of players to be released and retained from their 2025 squads by 3:00 PM IST on November 15th. The Board will then send a list of registered players to the franchises. Teams will then shortlist players, determining the auction pool. The trading window will remain open until a week before the auction. It will then reopen until a month before the start of IPL 2026. However, teams will not be able to trade any players purchased in the 2026 auction.
IPL trade market in full swing
Two trades have been confirmed between three teams ahead of the IPL retention auction. The most headline-grabbing trade was that of Shardul Thakur. The Mumbai Indians have added Thakur to their team. Previously, Shardul was part of the Lucknow Super Giants.
Meanwhile, prior to the IPL retention auction, the Mumbai Indians traded Sherfane Rutherford to the Gujarat Titans. Sherfane Rutherford played for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, scoring a total of 291 runs. The IPL 2026 auction is going to be special in many ways, as all teams are preparing to add players based on their recent season’s performance.