The 2026 IPL mini-auction promises to be interesting. While some teams may just want to fill very small gaps in their squads, others could opt for major changes. Teams such as Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians look rather settled. The teams that suffered in IPL 2025, however-so maybe Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings-might opt to release a large number of players and reconstruct for a shot at a powerful comeback.
Several big stars will be available for the taking. Historically, mini auctions have often witnessed teams splurging on big names. Just last year, Rishabh Pant broke all records in the IPL auction when the Lucknow Super Giants paid a whopping ₹27 crore for him. This record could well be broken in the upcoming auction.
IPL 2026 Auction: Big-Spending Players
1. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has truly become the Rajasthan Royals’ icon. He has been with the Royals for 11 seasons and is their longest-serving player ever. The Kerala cricketer has also been leading the team since 2021. But recent reports state that Samson has had some sort of fallout with the team management and hence might put himself through for a trade or even enter the auction.
This could lead to a major bidding war if Samson’s name comes up in the auction. He is turning 30 and is known mostly as an opener, but he demonstrated in the 2025 Asia Cup his flexibility to perform important tasks in the middle order for India by scoring crucial runs. Any team willing to pay the price for his good wicket-keeping skills combined with excellent captaincy will work hard to sign him.
2. KL Rahul
There are reports that KL Rahul might be traded to another franchise after representing Delhi Capitals (DC) last season. The 33-year-old has constantly been criticized for the slow strike rate he has maintained for many years.
But in the last IPL, he slowly shifted from an old style of batting and began attacking the bowlers right from the onset. Rahul’s part-time wicket-keeping duties could also add great value to teams. He is a fairly decent captain with a lot of experience under his belt. This right-handed batter showed a lot of flexibility last year as well, batting at various positions in the order. If DC decides to free him before the auction, he could be the one sending Pant’s record for a toss.
3. Cameron Green
In the 2024 IPL season, Cameron Green was with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Still, the team opted not to retain him before the mega auction due to his extended back injury. The Australian all-rounder underwent surgery towards the end of 2024 and came back into action early in 2025. Green is in excellent form in international cricket.
In eight T20Is this year, he has scored 258 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 168.62. Though he has been playing exclusively as a batter, he is hard at work trying to get his body back into shape for fast bowling. Should he start bowling before the mini auction, IPL franchises will part with huge amounts to have him.
