A historical final IPL 2025 witnessed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerging as champion for the first time ever and ending 17 years of pain for the fans.
With a month of celebrations behind them, the cricketing world is now caught up in IPL pre-auction trade. It is finally time to move from the pitch to the auction table, where many players’ fate will be carted out.
The teams will be making their decisions on strengthening their squads, retaining key performers, and releasing the non-performing ones.
Read Also:- IPL 2026 Retained Players List
The mini-auction in the early months of 2026 will reward those decisions.
When is the IPL 2026 Mini Auction?
According to the latest guidelines issued by the BCCI and some of the most credible recent reports, the mini auction of IPL 2026 will have to be scheduled after the player trade window of December-January. Considering the timeline, it should take place early 2026 either in January or February.
Although the exact date has not yet been set forth officially for the auction, many sources including the IPL website have given indications that it is expected to be out within a couple of weeks.
The mini auction shall offer the franchises in the IPL 2026 to get the players that they deem necessary for the completion of their squad after the pre-auction trade window.
Player Retention Rules
Each team will retain up to 6 players before IPL 2026 mini auction. This will include Indian players, uncapped Indian players and overseas players. A team can retain a maximum of 4 capped Indian players, 2 uncapped Indian players and 2 overseas players.
For IPL 2026, the auction purse for each team will be ₹151 crore. It was ₹120 crore for 2025.
If any overseas player wants to participate in IPL 2026 mini auction, they should have registered for the 2025 IPL mega auction. The only exception to this rule is for players who couldn’t register for a mega auction due to injury or medical exemption.
IPL 2026 Mini Auction Venue
Traditionally the mini auction venue is Delhi or Mumbai as it’s convenient and IPL headquarters is there. But the 2025 mega auction was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There is a chance the BCCI might consider an international venue again for the 2026 mini auction.
Players likely to Enter the Auction Pool
Around 80 players will go into the IPL 2026 mini auction as all 10 teams will release underperformers or high priced players. Some big names like Rishabh Pant who struggled after a record ₹27 crore buy, Md Shami, Quinton de Cock, Ravichandran Ashwin, Liam Livingston, Nitish Rana, Glenn Maxwell, Jonny Bairstow and others.
Teams will use this mini auction to get fresh and veteran talent to strengthen their squads for IPL 2026. Each team will release the final list of auction players soon while retaining the core.
Where to Watch IPL 2026 Mini Auction Live
IPL 2026 mini auction live streaming and telecast details will be same as previous IPL auctions. The auction will be live on Star Sports channels, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2 and their HD variants.
Live streaming will be on JioCinema, the official digital platform for IPL in India.
Auction is expected to happen in January or February 2026, exact date and venue to be announced by BCCI closer to the event.
Auction Context: Trading Windows & Calendar Flow
- IPL has three trading windows:
- Pre-Auction (June–July 2025): Teams negotiate retentions and early trades before the auction.
- Post-Auction (Dec 2025–Jan 2026): Final customer roster adjustments after the auction.
- Pre-Tournament (Feb–Mar 2026): Last chance to tweak rosters before 2026 season starts.
- Mini auction slots in between the first and third window, giving franchises three phases of squad rebuilding
