Uday Saharan is likely to be on the list of players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction that teams may eye. Recently, he became the match hero for Punjab by hitting a dazzling 117* against Chandigarh in the Ranji Trophy and leading his team to victory. He has played only four first-class matches, with 438 runs scored out of which two are centuries and one is a fifty, plus a stunning average of 73.00. Besides, he is the captain of the Punjab team.
While he was only 21, the young man made news by leading the Indian U19 team to the 2024 World Cup finals and finishing as the runner-up. He was indeed the top scorer of the tournament with 397 runs in seven games at an average of 56.71 which included one century and three fifties.
Since he is doing great in the top order, there will be IPL franchises that have an eye on Uday Saharan’s kind of talent. Let us check out three franchises that will possibly look to acquire Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction.
Uday Saharan in IPL 2026 Auction
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Uday Saharan can be one of the picks for KKR at the IPL 2026 auction. They had a serious problem with top-order batting all throughout IPL 2025 and that was the main reason they finished at the bottom 8 of the table. It is possible that players like Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be part of the KKR released players 2026 list. So, KKR will be looking to cover that position in the auction and they might consider targeting Uday Saharan and putting him in the Kolkata Knight Riders players 2026 list.
In the past and present, we have witnessed that KKR has always been the franchise that supports the younger generation, especially the U-19 tournaments’ top achievers. It was Shubman Gill earlier, and now Angkrish Raghuvanshi. The next one could be Uday Saharan, and with Abhishek Nayar as head coach, KKR may want to have more young players in the team and therefore aim for players like Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
like KKR had similar problems in IPL 2025 at the top order. Their top-order batsmen, particularly the openers, had a very poor season with the bat. The primary cause of their downfall was the lack of stable top batters as Delhi kept trying different combinations for the opening throughout the season.
Among the players that will be in the Delhi Capitals released players 2026 list are Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk. Hence, DC may be looking for top-order batsmen, and Uday Saharan could be one of the DC’s picks in the IPL 2026 auction.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
The Punjab Kings could be the next team to chase after Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction. In the recent past, PBKS has demonstrated its inclination to keep domestic players, especially the uncapped ones, in its squad. They, however, decided to keep only two players, both of them uncapped, that is, Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh after the IPL 2024 season. So, there could be a situation where Uday Saharan could be one of the picks of the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2026 auction.
He has, moreover, been appointed as the captain of Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. The Punjab Kings top order comprising Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Shreyas Iyer has had a wonderful season and is likely to be in the Punjab Kings players 2026 list. Uday Saharan, however, will not only give them a good backup for everyone but also since he is from Punjab, he is aware of the conditions.
