IPL Auction Set for December 16 with 350-Player Pool
A pool of 350 cricketers, including 240 from India, will go under the hammer at the IPL auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, who recently returned to ODI cricket, has been added as a late entrant with a base price of Rs 1 crore. Australia’s Steve Smith also returns to the list and is placed in the Rs 2 crore bracket.
The BCCI received 1,390 registrations for this year’s auction. After two rounds of shortlisting, the final list was trimmed to 350 players for 77 available slots. Ten teams together have 31 overseas spots to fill.
The opening set features Indian batters Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan, both priced at Rs 75 lakh. Shaw went unsold last season, while Sarfaraz has not appeared in the league since 2021.
Top overseas names include Cameron Green, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Devon Conway and David Miller, all carrying a base price of Rs 2 crore. Former KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer also enters the same bracket. Domestic standouts Kunal Chandela and Ashok Kumar, who topped the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy charts, have made the cut as well.
Among franchises, Kolkata Knight Riders have the biggest purse at Rs 64.3 crore. Chennai Super Kings follow with Rs 43.4 crore, while Sunrisers Hyderabad have Rs 25.5 crore to spend.
England has 21 players in the auction, including Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Liam Livingstone and Ben Duckett. Nineteen Australians are in the pool, led by Green along with Josh Inglis, Matthew Short, Cooper Connolly and Beau Webster.
South Africa features 15 names, with de Kock and Miller joined by Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Wiaan Mulder. The West Indies contingent includes Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Ackeem Auguste.
Sri Lanka has 12 entries headed by Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana. New Zealand has 16 players, among them Conway and Rachin Ravindra. Afghanistan completes the lineup with ten players, including Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Naveen ul Haq.