Top 5 most expensive players at the IPL 2026 auction

With the IPL 2026 set to commence in March next year, a mini-auction was held for all of the ten franchises on 15th Dec, 2025. All the franchises participated in the auction to bolster and balance their squads with important reinforcements. 

IPL auctions have been known to create intense bidding wars that lead to extremely high prices for some players while some players might be available for a bargain price. 

let us take a look at the Top 5 most expensive buys from the recent mini-auction – 

5. Mustafizur Rahman (Kolkata Knight Riders – INR 9.2 crore)

Bangladesh’s pace spearhead Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Delhi Capitals after the  IPL 2025 season where he played only three games for the Delhi franchise. Rahman’s base price was set at INR 2 crore in this auction and the price went up due to a tense bidding war between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings which resulted in Kolkata snapping him up for INR 9.2 crore. With this final value, Rahman became the fifth most expensive player at this auction. 

Rahman has played for several IPL franchises in the past and possesses great experience in death bowling in the short-format with a decent economy-rate. He has taken 65 wickets with an average of 28.44 and an economy-rate of 8.13 in 60 IPL matches.

Rahman has been Bangladesh’s most important fast bowler for more than a decade now and he will definitely add a lot of sharpness and experience to the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling attack. 

4. Liam Livingstone (Sunrisers Hyderabad – INR 13 crore)

England allrounder Liam Livingston was released by the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) before the IPL 2026 auction. 

Livingston was bought for a massive INR 13 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the mini-auction. Livingstone’s base price was INR 2 crore as he went unsold in the initial round. However, he was finally bought by the Hyderabad-based franchise in the accelerated round later on where they faced stiff competition from Lucknow Super Giants who went up to INR 12.4 crore but SRH ended up grabbing the highly-rated English allrounder.  

Livingstone is a hard-hitting middle-order batter who can act as a finisher for his team. Additionally, he is also a handy wicket-taker with his offbreak bowling. 

This could prove to be a great buy for the Sunrisers Hyderabad who would be grateful for another top  allrounder in their lineup. 

3. Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer (Chennai Super Kings – INR 14.20 crore)

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) showed faith in young talent by bringing in Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brewis last season and they have replicated the same strategy with youngsters Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. However, this time they have taken a huge punt on inexperienced young players whose base price was INR 30 lakhs, spending a staggering INR 28.40 crore on both of them, thus making them the joint-third most expensive buy (INR 14.20 crore)  from this auction. Several other franchises like the Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals were interested in the two youngsters as well but CSK managed to secure their signings. 

Kartik Sharma is a 19-year-old wicket-keeper batter who plays for Rajasthan in the domestic league. Sharma has a decent record in the domestic T20 matches with an average of 30.36 and a strike-rate of 162.92 in 12 games.

Their second expensive buy, Prashant Veer is a 20-year-old off-spinner who has played only 9 domestic T20 games with a bowling average of 16.66 and economy-rate of 6.45. He can also bat lower down the order and has an excellent strike-rate of 167.16.

Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma broke the record for the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history. The previous record was held by quickie Avesh Khan when he was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for INR 10 crore in 2022. 

2. Matheesha Pathirana (Kolkata Knight Riders – INR 18 crore)

Sri Lankan pace bowler Matheesha Pathirana was released by the Chennai Super Kings before the IPL 2026 auction. He was the second most expensive buy of the IPL 2026 auction with Kolkata Knight Riders spending the big bucks on the fast bowler following a fierce  bidding war with the Lucknow Super Giants. 

Pathirana had been part of the CSK’s title-winning squad in 2023 and CSK had retained Pathirana for INR 13 crore in the previous auction. However, injury lay-offs derailed his season last year which prompted the Chennai franchise to release the player. 

Pathirana’s base price was INR 2 crore and went for a massive package which is nine times of his base price. Pathirana’s economical death bowling and strike-rate make him a vital asset in the shorter format, a kind of profile most franchises desire in their fast bowlers.  

1. Cameron Green (Kolkata Knight Riders – INR 25.20 crore)

Australian allrounder Cameron Green has been the most expensive buy of the season with a staggering INR 25.20 crore spent by the Kolkata Knight Riders. As a result, Green broke the record for the most expensive overseas player in the IPL, a record held by compatriot Mitchell Starc who was bought by KKR for INR 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. 

Green’s base price was INR 2 crore and went up to INR 25.20 with an intense bidding war that ensued between KKR and CSK after Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) had also been involved initially. 

Though he was bought for the said amount, Cameron Green will only receive a salary of INR 18 crore as per the guidelines issued by the BCCI last year. The rest of the amount (INR 7.2 crore) will go to the BCCI. As per the rule, the maximum fee an overseas player can stand to earn from the mini-auction will be determined by the highest retention price (INR 18 crores) or the highest auction price at the mega auction (27 crore which was spent on Rishabh Pant), whichever is lower.

Green is a top-order batter who can open the bowling as well. He has previously played for MI and RCB in the IPL. The Aussie allrounder has a superb batting average of 41.58 and a strike-rate of 153.69 from 29 IPL matches. He can strike early for his team but his bowling average (41.50) and economy-rate (9.07) in the IPL haven’t been great.