The BCCI has whittled down the list of players who will take part in the upcoming IPL 2026 mini-auction from an initial 1,355 to a sharp final pool of only 350.
This massive reduction of nearly 75 percent means fewer players will go under the hammer, focusing team bids on top talent.
It is now official that the auction will be held on December 16 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi at 2:30 pm IST.
Quinton de Kock: The Star Nobody Expected
Among the finalised list, though, there is one big surprise: the inclusion of South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock. The 33-year-old was not part of the initial list sent to the franchises but came into the revised pool in a later exchange after one of the teams asked for his name.
de Kock’s sudden return to the auction list follows his recent, highly-publicized return from international retirement, which saw him blast a spectacular century in Visakhapatnam. This brilliant performance clearly re-ignited interest from IPL teams searching for an explosive opener and wicketkeeper.
De Kock Becomes Hot Auction Pick
De Kock goes into the auction with a base price of INR 1 crore, approximately $120,000. This is 50% down from his INR 2 crore in the previous mega-auction, where he was bought and later released by the Kolkata Knight Riders after a disappointing season. The lower base price, together with his recent form, makes him a considerably more attractive and hot commodity this time around.
The final list of 350 players also includes 35 other players who have not featured in the first list, indicating that the franchises have indeed played an active role in shaping the final selection pool.
The auction is expected to kick off with the capped international players, grouped by their specialised roles, as teams jostle for the maximum 77 slots available across the ten franchises. This more condensed and focused auction promises some high-stakes bidding for this limited talent pool.
The History of the IPL Mini-Auction
The Indian Premier League’s mini-auction is an essential part of the IPL calendar that occurs periodically. While the Mega-Auction, that features most of the players getting released for an overall change in the squad makeup, usually occurs once every three years, the mini-auction happens in the intervening years.
The purpose of a mini-auction is to allow franchises to fine-tune their squads. Teams enter the mini-auction having retained the core of their existing players, focusing only on filling the limited number of vacant slots created by releasing underperforming, expensive, or retired players. This ensures that the league remains competitive and that there is no compulsion to rebuild every season.
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Shortlisting Criteria for Players Elimination
This is called shortlisting, driven essentially by the IPL franchises themselves as they whittle down an initial, often massive registration list-over 1,300 players in some cases-to a more manageable auction pool, usually in the region of 300-350 players.
This is not solely the BCCI’s final list; rather, it’s a strategic partnership by the league along with the teams.
1. Franchise Interest (The Prime Factor)
The most critical criterion for a player’s inclusion, however, is expressed interest from the teams. Shortlisting works as follows:
Initial List: The BCCI will make a master list of all registered players and share that with the ten franchises.
Team Submissions: The above long list is then reviewed by each franchise and based on the team’s needs, planned budget, and overall strategy, each submits a shortlist of players it is actually interested in bidding for.
Consolidation: All the players who received interest from at least one franchise are consolidated by the BCCI. The consolidated list is the final, short auction pool.
2. Player Eligibility and Documentation
They also must meet the basic eligibility requirements to be in the final auction pool: Registration: The player should have registered with the BCCI well in advance of the registration deadline and also selected a base price. NOC: The overseas players have to obtain the No Objection Certificate from their respective national cricket board to take part in the IPL. No inclusion can be done without this.
New Inclusions in IPL 2026
Overseas players: Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa) Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies).
Indian players: Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya and Aman Shekawat.
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