IPL 2026 Auction

Biggest buys · Team purses · Player retentions · Salary cap

Teams Players Schedule

IPL 2026 Auction — Overview

Total Purse

₹900 crore+

Salary Cap

₹120 cr/team

Max Retentions

6 per team

RTM Cards

Available post-release

Uncapped Limit

4 max retained

Auction Format

Single day, bidding rounds

IPL 2026 auction — ₹120 crore cap per team. Up to 6 retentions allowed. Retained player costs deducted from purse first. Balance used to bid for available players. Biggest buy: Rishabh Pant — ₹27 crore (LSG).

IPL 2026 Auction — Biggest Buys

#	Player	Team	Price (₹ cr)	Base (₹ cr)	Role	Country
1	Rishabh Pant	LSG	₹27.00	₹2.00	WK-Batsman	IND
2	Mitchell Starc	KKR	₹24.75	₹2.00	Bowler	AUS
3	Pat Cummins	SRH	₹20.50	₹2.00	All-rounder	AUS
4	Faf du Plessis	RCB	₹16.00	₹2.00	Batsman	SA
5	Travis Head	SRH	₹15.40	₹2.00	Batsman	AUS
6	Jake Fraser-McGurk	DC	₹12.50	₹0.50	Batsman	AUS
7	Liam Livingstone	PBKS	₹11.50	₹2.00	All-rounder	ENG
8	Sam Curran	CSK	₹18.50	₹2.00	All-rounder	ENG
9	Josh Hazlewood	RCB	₹12.50	₹2.00	Bowler	AUS
10	Quinton de Kock	KKR	₹4.25	₹1.00	WK-Batsman	SA

IPL 2026 Player Retentions

Teams retained their core players ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Below are the key retentions with their confirmed prices (deducted from the franchise's ₹120 crore purse).

Team	Player	Retention Price	Role
MI	Rohit Sharma	₹16.30 cr	Batsman
MI	Jasprit Bumrah	₹18.00 cr	Bowler
CSK	MS Dhoni	₹12.00 cr	WK-Batsman
RCB	Virat Kohli	₹21.00 cr	Batsman
KKR	Sunil Narine	₹12.00 cr	All-rounder
KKR	Andre Russell	₹12.00 cr	All-rounder
DC	Axar Patel	₹16.50 cr	All-rounder
SRH	Heinrich Klaasen	₹23.00 cr	WK-Batsman
GT	Shubman Gill	₹16.50 cr	Batsman
LSG	KL Rahul	₹18.00 cr	WK-Batsman
RR	Sanju Samson	₹18.00 cr	WK-Batsman
RR	Yashasvi Jaiswal	₹18.00 cr	Batsman
PBKS	Shikhar Dhawan	₹4.00 cr	Batsman

How the IPL Auction Works

The IPL auction is one of cricket's most dramatic events — a day-long bidding war where 10 franchise owners and team management sit in a room and compete for the world's best T20 players. Here's how it works:

Pre-Auction Retentions

Each franchise can retain up to 6 players (combination of direct retentions and RTM cards). Retained player salaries are fixed by BCCI and deducted from the team's salary cap.

Salary Cap

Each team has a ₹120 crore purse. Retained player costs are deducted first. The remaining amount is what teams can spend in the auction.

Player Base Prices

Every player entering the auction has a base price set by either BCCI (for overseas players) or the player themselves. Base prices range from ₹20 lakhs to ₹2 crore.

Bidding Process

The auctioneer names the player and opens at the base price. Teams raise numbered paddles to bid. Bidding escalates until only one team remains — that team wins the player.

Right to Match (RTM)

A franchise that released a player can use an RTM card to match the highest bid and re-sign the player. RTM cards are limited and used strategically.

Unsold Players

If no team bids for a player at their base price, they are declared unsold. Unsold players may re-enter the auction at a reduced base price in later rounds.

IPL Auction History — 2020 to 2024

Year	Total Spent	Biggest Buy	Players Sold
2024	₹641 cr	Mitchell Starc (KKR) — ₹24.75 cr	329 players
2023	₹516 cr	Sam Curran (PBKS) — ₹18.50 cr	405 players
2022	₹551 cr	Ishan Kishan (MI) — ₹15.25 cr	590 players
2021	₹145 cr	Chris Morris (RR) — ₹16.25 cr	292 players
2020	₹140 cr	Pat Cummins (KKR) — ₹15.50 cr	338 players

IPL 2022 was a mega-auction (all players released) due to two new teams joining (GT and LSG). The 2024 mini-auction saw Mitchell Starc break the all-time record for highest auction price.

IPL 2026 Tickets

IPL 2026 match tickets are available through the official BookMyShow platform and the BCCI Ticketing portal. Prices range from ₹500 (general stand) to ₹15,000+ (premium hospitality) depending on the venue, match and stand. Playoff and Final tickets typically sell out within minutes of release.