IPL 2026 Auction Results
Complete player sales, prices, and franchise spending
Top Sales by Price
| # | Player | Franchise | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rishab Pant 🇮🇳 India | Lucknow Super Giants | ₹270 Cr |
| 2 | Shreyas Iyer 🇮🇳 India | Punjab Kings | ₹262 Cr |
| 3 | Shreyas Iyer 🇮🇳 India | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹261 Cr |
| 4 | Mitchell Starc 🇦🇺 Australia | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹245 Cr |
| 5 | Pat Cummins 🇦🇺 Australia | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹205 Cr |
| 6 | Heinrich Klaasen 🇿🇦 South Africa | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹185 Cr |
| 7 | Sam Curran 🏴 England | Chennai Super Kings | ₹185 Cr |
| 8 | Arshdeep Singh 🇮🇳 India | Punjab Kings | ₹180 Cr |
| 9 | Yuzvendra Chahal 🇮🇳 India | Punjab Kings | ₹180 Cr |
| 10 | Rachin Ravindra 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Chennai Super Kings | ₹180 Cr |
| 11 | Cameron Green 🇦🇺 Australia | Mumbai Indians | ₹175 Cr |
| 12 | KL Rahul 🇮🇳 India | Lucknow Super Giants | ₹170 Cr |
| 13 | Ben Stokes 🏴 England | Chennai Super Kings | ₹163 Cr |
| 14 | Travis Head 🇦🇺 Australia | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ₹145 Cr |
| 15 | Hardik Pandya 🇮🇳 India | Mumbai Indians | ₹130 Cr |
| 16 | Sunil Narine 🏏 West Indies | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹130 Cr |
| 17 | Josh Hazlewood 🇦🇺 Australia | Royal Challengers | ₹120 Cr |
| 18 | Liam Livingstone 🏴 England | Punjab Kings | ₹85 Cr |
| 19 | Nicholas Pooran 🏏 West Indies | Lucknow Super Giants | ₹21 Cr |
| 20 | Shikhar Dhawan 🇮🇳 India | Punjab Kings | ₹20 Cr |
| 21 | Andre Russell 🏏 West Indies | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹12 Cr |
| 22 | Shimron Hetmyer 🏏 West Indies | Rajasthan Royals | ₹11 Cr |
| 23 | Faf du Plessis 🇿🇦 South Africa | Royal Challengers | ₹7 Cr |
| 24 | Reeza Hendricks 🇿🇦 South Africa | Delhi Capitals | ₹3 Cr |
| 25 | Jason Roy 🏴 England | Gujarat Titans | ₹2 Cr |
| 26 | Tom Banton 🏴 England | Rajasthan Royals | ₹1 Cr |
Franchise Spend
* Illustrative data · Final results may vary
IPL Player Auction — How It Works
The Indian Premier League player auction is one of sport's most watched transfer events. Each franchise enters the auction with a salary cap (the “purse”) and a list of retained players, then bids in real time for released or uncapped players. The 2026 IPL Mega Auction was held in November 2025 ahead of IPL 19, with all ten franchises releasing most of their squads and competing for the full pool of available talent.
The auction operates in two main formats: the annual mini-auction, where teams fill gaps in their retained squads, and the periodic mega-auction, held roughly every three years, which resets almost all contracts. In a mega-auction year, franchises can retain only a small number of players (typically 5-6) before the pool opens for bidding. Each franchise receives a purse of ₹120 crore (approximately $14.5 million USD) in recent cycles, with retained players' salaries deducted from that figure. Players are grouped into salary categories (Cap A, Cap B, etc.) based on their base price, and bidding begins at the lowest category.
The IPL auction has broken records in each successive cycle. The 2022 mega-auction saw Ishan Kishan go to Mumbai Indians for ₹15.25 crore, a record at the time. The 2023 mini-auction surpassed it when Sam Curran was sold for ₹18.50 crore — the first auction to break ₹18 crore for a single player. In 2025, an overseas fast bowler went for over ₹20 crore as franchises competed for proven international match-winners. These numbers reflect the IPL's commercial scale: the league's broadcast rights are worth over $6 billion USD, and franchise valuations now regularly exceed $1 billion.
The auction's drama is shaped by several tactical elements: RTM (Right To Match) cards, which allow franchises to match the winning bid for their own released player; accelerator rounds that speed up bidding for lower-category players; and the uncapped player pool, which often produces surprising bids when teams identify emerging domestic talent. The BCCI governs the process and publishes the final sold list shortly after auction day. For full squad lists and upcoming IPL fixtures, see the IPL hub.