IPL 2026 Auction: Superstar Player Makes Surprise Return, BCCI Removes 1,005 Players From List
A total of 350 players will go under the hammer in the IPL 2026 auction after the BCCI added 35 new names to the list.
- The IPL 2026 auction will feature 350 players after BCCI removed 1,005 names from the longlist
- Quinton de Kock was added to the list after a franchise request and set a base price of Rs 1 crore
- The auction starts at 1 pm UAE time on December 16 at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction will only see 350 players go under the hammer after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) removed a whopping 1,005 names from the longlist. A handful of players, including a South African wicket-keeper batter, were added to the list despite not being among the players to have originally registered for the auction. A total of 35 new names, who hadn't registered earlier, have been added to the final list pruned by the BCCI.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, De Kock's addition to the shortlist came after a franchise personally requested his name to be included. The wicket-keeper batter, who recently reversed his international retirement, slammed a century against India in the third and final ODI of the series at Vizag. The performance is expected to have played a role in him changing his stance.
De Kock has set his base price at Rs 1 crore - a 50 percent drop from the previous mega auction, when he was picked up by the Knight Riders for his base price of Rs 2 crore.
Among other players to have been added to the roster are: Sri Lanka's Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera and Dunith Wellalage. Afghanistan's Arab Gul and West Indies' Akeem Auguste will be on the auction table for the first time in their careers.
Among domestic players, the likes of Vishnu Solanki, Parikshit Valsangkar, Sadek Hussain, Izaz Sawariya and 20 others who were not part of the initial submission, have been added.
"The auction will feature 350 players and will commence at 1 pm UAE time (2:30 pm IST) on Tuesday, 16 December, at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi," the BCCI said in a mail that was sent to the franchises on Monday night.
According to the report, the bidding process will start with a full round of capped players in the order of specialism - batters, all-rounders, wicket-keeper/batters, fast bowlers, and spin bowlers. Then, the same order of specialism will be followed for uncapped players.
"The first accelerated will cover all the players from 71-350. Once these players have been presented, franchises will be requested to submit the names of the players (unpresented and unsold) from all those on the full list of 350 for further accelerated presentation," the BCCI said.
New inclusions in final IPL auction list of 350 players:
Overseas players: Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies).
Indian players: Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya and Aman Shekawat.
Quinton de Kock