IPL 2026 Mini Auction: Mustafizur Among Top Overseas Buys, Shakib Also Listed

With the IPL mini auction scheduled for 16 December in Abu Dhabi, over 1,000 cricketers have registered for selection, including Bangladesh icons Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman.

Shakib, a seasoned IPL campaigner with nine seasons under his belt, has a base price of INR 1 crore, while Mustafizur, categorised among top international players, commands INR 2 crore, underlining his status as one of the most sought-after overseas pacers.

The one-day mini auction features 1,355 players across 13 pages, including numerous high-profile names from England, Australia, and South Africa. Notable entrants include Cameron Green, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, and Josh Inglis, with participation of the latter still uncertain due to personal reasons. Other marquee players on the list are Jonny Bairstow, Jamie Smith, Rachin Ravindra, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Matheesha Pathirana.

However, Glenn Maxwell, released by Punjab Kings before IPL 2025, is surprisingly absent.

Among Indians, top names include Mayank Agarwal, K.S. Bharat, Rahul Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda, Akash Deep, Venkatesh Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Mavi, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Kuldeep Sen, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tripathi, Sandeep Warrier, and Umesh Yadav. Only Ravi Bishnoi and Venkatesh Iyer have a base price of INR 2 crore.

Mustafizur joins a list of 43 overseas players at the top base price, including Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Jamie Smith, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cooper Conolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis, Gas Atkinson, Tom Banton, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Daniel Lawrence, Liam Livingstone, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Bracewell, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi, Enrique Noriega, Pathirana, Mahesh Thikshana, and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Following the retention process that concluded on 15 November, all ten IPL franchises have a combined budget of INR 237.55 crore for the auction. Players from 14 nations are expected to compete for selection, making it a truly global mini auction event.

Khaborwala/SJ