The IPL mini auction for the 2026 season is all set to take place in Abu Dhabi on 16th December. The IPL governing council has already released the players' names who are going under the hammer for the mega event. The auction game is going to be played on the supply and demand, as many teams do not need to fill many slots in the auction, RCB, MI, GT and PBKS will be the happiest teams before the Auction as they don’t need much to do with their squad and already have players to fill the playing eleven, while CSK and KKR will be the busiest teams in the auction, with so many slots to fill. Other than that, DC, SRH, LSG and RR will look forward to filling the loopholes of their team.
IPL Auction 2026 strategies and plans
CSK (purse remaining – 43.4 CR)
CSK already has a very good young core that can be the assets for the future. With the addition of Sanju Samson, the team now has one more player in the team’s leadership group and will also give firepower at the top. As Jadeja and Curran exit from the team, the team now has to find a strong all-rounder who can also bowl spin, and will also need a good finisher. Otherwise, the management will look forward to buying an overseas player who can give a few overs with the ball.
Possible targets- Prashant Veer, Aquib Nabi, George Linde, Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, Mathew Short and Ravi Bishnoi.
KKR (Purse remaining- 64.3 CR)
KKR will come in the auction with the highest purse as they let go of Andre Russell; the team will surely go for Cameron Green. They also need an opening batter who can give starts like Phil Salt. Other than that, they should buy an overseas fast bowler and a replacement for Venkatesh Iyer. They have a very good Indian core, and they might go all out for an overseas player.
Possible targets- Cameron Green, Jamie Smith, Johny Bairstow, Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Matheesha Pathirana, Prithvi Shaw
SRH ( Purse remaining- 25.5 CR)
SRH will be one of the teams that does not need many players to fill their squad. They will be looking forward to buying an experienced middle-order batter who can give support to Nitish Kumar Reddy and Aniket Varma. They will have to find a replacement for Shami and Rahul Chahar.
Possible targets- Venkatesh Iyer, Mahipal Lomror, Aquib Nabi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ravi Bishnoi, Ben Dwarshuis, Aksah Deep
DC (Purse remaining- 21.8 CR)
With 8 slots to fill, DC will have to find an explosive overseas opener and a powerful middle-order all-rounder and a reliable Indian pacer who can bowl in the death. They will also look forward to strengthening their bowling backups.
Possible targets- Rachin Ravindra, Jamie Smith, Quinton De Kock, Swastik Chikara, Liam Livingstone, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Akash Deep
LSG (purse remaining- 22.95 CR)
LSG might look to buy an explosive middle-order batter who can also come in handy with bowling. Players like George Linde, Liam Livingstone might suit them. They also have to find a replacement for Ravi Bishnoi and also have to find a death over specialist.
Possible targets- Rahul Chahar, Jacob Duffy, Will O'Rourke, Matheesha Pathirana, Abhinav Manohar, George Linde
RCB (purse remaining- 16.4 CR)
RCB will not need so much in this auction, as they already have a stable core. They might look forward to buying replacements for overseas players.
Possible targets- Rahul Chahar, Jacob Duffy, Will O'Rourke, Matheesha Pathirana, Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal
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RR (Purse remaining- 16.05 CR)
RR shortened their gaps before the auction in the trade window. RR was one of the busiest teams that were involved in trades. They got Jadeja and Curran from Chennai and Donavan Ferreira from DC, but they will have to fill their slot for spinners and will also need a gun Indian fast bowler who can bowl along with Jofra Archer.
Possible targets- Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, Rahul Chahar, Kyle Jamieson, Luke Wood.
GT (Purse remaining-12.9 CR)
GT will also be one of the chill teams in the auction, as they have a shortened squad; they might need a proven middle-order finisher and an overseas pace bowling option.
Possible targets- David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Spencer Johnson, Akash Madhwal.
PBKS (Purse remaining-11.5 CR)
PBKS will also be one of the chill teams in the auction, as they have most bases covered; they mainly need a reliable middle-order finisher and a backup wicketkeeper to strengthen their depth.
Possible targets – Tim Seifert, Akash Deep, Prashant Veer
MI( Purse remaining-2.75 CR)
MI has only five slots to fill with one overseas player. They have a solid team with all the bases covered, and might look for a spin bowling option.
Possible targets- Tanush Kotian, Suchith, AquibNabi
The auction will start at 1.30 pm (IST).
