IPL's Rs 57.6 Crore Problem: How All 10 Teams Are Impacted By A Single Issue
The IPL 2026 has already seen 50 matches this year but one problem that has plagued every single side has been the absence of players at different junctures of the competition.
The IPL 2026 has already seen 50 matches this year, but one problem that has plagued every single side has been the absence of players at different junctures of the competition. A significant number of players were sidelined due to injuries, withdrawals, or unavailability. If we add the money that these players commanded in the IPL 2026 auction, the sum total comes to a mammoth Rs 57.6 crore. For context, Kolkata Knight Riders entered this year's auction with the largest purse among all the franchises, which was worth Rs 64.30 crore.
If we look at the 2024 champions, they also have two major absentees: Harshit Rana (Rs 4 crore) and Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 18 crore). While Harshit was ruled out of the competition due to knee ligament surgery, Pathirana has not played a single game due to fitness concerns.
For Rajasthan Royals, England all-rounder Sam Curran was a massive blow after the player was ruled out just after completing a stunning trade from CSK. Even for CSK, missing quality pacers like Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis, and their star youngster Ayush Mhatre, meant that the team composition was hampered massively mid-tournament.
Even Mumbai Indians had their ups and downs as Rohit Sharma missed a number of matches due to injury problems, and Will Jacks only started playing for them a couple of matches ago. In the meantime, New Zealand star Mitchell Santner picked up a shoulder injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the competition.
A lot has also been spoken about the availability of Australian cricketers, with some missing out and some arriving late. Mitchell Starc joined Delhi Capitals after a number of matches, while Josh Hazlewood also missed a few initial games for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Even Cameron Green's bowling has been restricted due to workload management by Cricket Australia (CA).
Complete list of players who have missed IPL 2026 till now:
Matheesha Pathirana: Rs 18 crore
Mustafizur Rahman: Rs 9.2 crore
Khaleel Ahmed: Rs 4.8 crore
Harshit Rana: Rs 4 crore
Jack Edwards: Rs 3 crore
Sam Curran: Rs 2.4 crore
Nathan Ellis: Rs 2 crore
Wanindu Hasaranga: Rs 2 crore
Tom Banton: Rs 2 crore
Mitchell Santner: Rs 2 crore
Ben Duckett: Rs 2 crore
Matthew Short: Rs 1.5 crore
David Payne: Rs 1.5 crore
Akash Deep: Rs 1 crore
Brydon Carse: Rs 1 crore
Atharva Ankolekar: Rs 30 lakh
Prithviraj Yarra: Rs 30 lakh
Ayush Mhatre: Rs 30 lakh
Ramakrishna Ghosh: Rs 30 lakh
Besides injuries, there were a couple of absentees who did not take part in IPL 2026 due to completely different reasons. Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was bought by KKR for a huge Rs 9.2 crore in the auction, but he was released by the franchise amid tense political relations between India and Bangladesh.
On the other hand, England batter Ben Duckett pulled out of the competition as he wanted to concentrate on Test cricket; consequently, he did not end up playing for Delhi Capitals.
Rajasthan Royals
Chennai Super Kings
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Mumbai Indians
Punjab Kings
Lucknow Super Giants
Gujarat Titans
Delhi Capitals