10 teams, 77 slots, Rs 237.55 cr purse: Who needs whom at IPL auction? |
New Delhi: All roads lead to Abu Dhabi as 10 franchises get ready to shape their teams and find the missing piece in the team composition puzzle at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction on December 16, Tuesday. The 10 teams will be vying to fill the 77 slots with a cumulative purse of Rs 237.55 crore, and among them, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will have the biggest say in the auction room.
Both former champions have the highest remaining purse of all the teams, with KKR leading the pack with Rs 64.30 cr, followed by CSK, who have 43.40 cr in their kitty.
With just 2.75 crore remaining purse, the Mumbai Indians (MI) can only focus on picking a few uncapped players at their base price.
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, along with out-of-favour India star Venkatesh Iyer and English dasher Liam Livingstone, is likely to attract big bidding wars between the franchises.
The fact that the franchises need to come up with targetted strategies for specific choices makes the mini-auction more intriguing than the mega auction. Players with distinct skill sets are expected to be the most in-demand set in the auction.
Every strategy depends on the remaining slots and purse, which is based on the number of players each franchise retained and released ahead of the auction. Here’s a look at how teams stack up ahead of the auction.
Teams will be looking to fill specific gaps in their squads, depending on the slots, budget and requirements according to positions. The focus will mostly be on all-rounders, specialist bowling options, and top-order........