IPL 2026 Auction Today: Timing, Live Streaming and Team Purse Details

New Delhi: The mini auction of the 2026 Indian Premier League is being held on Tuesday, December 16 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This merger will give an opportunity to finalize the teams of 10 franchises before the upcoming season of IPL. The auction will be for 77 vacant slots, in which each franchise will bid to strengthen its squad. A total of 350 players have been shortlisted, which includes both domestic and foreign players.

What is the auction timing?

The auction will start at 2:30 pm Indian time. Earlier, according to the agencies, the discussion on the profile of pre-listed players, the bidding process, and team requirements continued since morning. Live streaming will be available on JioHotstar app and website. The TV auction will be shown on Star Sports network channels.

How many players will be sold?

A total of 77 slots for 10 teams will be filled in the auction. Each team can limit its squad to 25 players, of which there will be a maximum of 8 foreign players. A total of 369 players have been listed in the auction, but only 77 of them will be bid for. More players may remain unsold. According to the needs of the team, most of the slots will be for domestic players, while 31 special slots are earmarked for foreign players.

How much budget do the teams have?

All the teams together have a budget of Rs 237.55 crore left, which they will spend on the players. Among the big franchises, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has the biggest purse, with Rs 64.3 crore left and needs the most players (13). After this, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has a purse of Rs 43.4 crore and they have 9 slots vacant.

Other teams' purses and vacant slots are as follows:

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: ₹25.5 crore, 10 slots
• Lucknow Super Giants: ₹22.95 crore, 6 slots
• Delhi Capitals: ₹21.8 crore, 8 slots
• RCB: ₹16.4 crore, 8 slots
• Rajasthan Royals: ₹16.05 crore, 9 slots
• Gujarat Titans: ₹12.9 crore, 5 slots
• Punjab Kings: ₹11.5 crore, 4 slots
• Mumbai Indians: ₹2.75 crore, 5 slots

Which teams are active?

Before the auction, all the teams have released the list of their retained and released players. Some teams need to buy more, while some already have enough players. It is also certain that this time there will be no option of 'Right to Match'; hence, teams will be able to get new players only through direct bidding.

What's Next?

Cricket pundits will especially keep their eyes on players like Cameron Green, Venkatesh Iyer and Liam Livingstone. There is a possibility of bidding on these at high prices. Overall, the atmosphere in the auction is heated even before the start of the bidding, and every team will try to use its budget smartly.