Less than 24 hours remain for the IPL 2026 auction that will be held on Tuesday (December 16) in Abu Dhabi. For those unaware, this will be a mini-auction, as we just had a mega auction last year. Therefore, this auction is about teams wanting to fill the gaps that they have or in some cases, make a major overhaul like what Kolkata Knight Riders or Chennai Super Kings are planning to come.
Let us have a look at the top-3 expensive buys from each of the previous mini-auctions. Remember, the mega auctions were in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2025.
IPL 2009 Auction
Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) and Kevin Pietersen (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): $1.55 million
JP Duminy (Mumbai Indians): $950,000
Tyron Henderson (Rajasthan Royals): $650,000
IPL 2010 Auction
Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians) and Shane Bond (Kolkata Knight Riders): $750,000
Kemar Roach (Deccan Chargers): $720,000
Wayne Parnell (Delhi Capitals): $610,000
IPL 2012 Auction
Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings): $2 million
Mahela Jayawardene (Delhi Capitals): $1.40 million
Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders): $900,000
IPL 2013 Auction
Glenn Maxwell (Mumbai Indians): $1 million
Ajantha Mendis (Pune Warriors India): $725,000
Kane Richardson (Pune Warriors India): $700,000
IPL 2015 Auction
Yuvraj Singh (Delhi Capitals): Rs 16 crore
Dinesh Karthik (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 10.50 crore
Angelo Mathews (Delhi Capitals): Rs 7.50 crore
IPL 2016 Auction
Shane Watson (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 9.50 crore
Pawan Negi (Delhi Capitals): Rs 8.50 crore
Chris Morris (Delhi Capitals) and Yuvraj Singh (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Rs 7 crore
IPL 2017 Auction
Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiant): Rs 14.50 crore
Tymal Mills (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 12 crore
Trent Boult (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 5 crore
IPL 2019 Auction
Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals) and Varun Chakaravarthy (Punjab Kings): Rs 8.40 crore
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings): Rs 7.20 crore
Colin Ingram (Delhi Capitals): Rs 6.40 crore
IPL 2020 Auction
Pat Cummins (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 15.50 crore
Glenn Maxwell (Punjab Kings): Rs 10.75 crore
Chris Morris (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 10 crore
IPL 2021 Auction
Chris Morris (Rajasthan Royals): Rs 16.25 crore
Kyle Jamieson (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 15 crore
Glenn Maxwell (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Rs 14.25 crore
IPL 2023 Auction
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings): Rs 18.50 crore
Cameron Green (Mumbai Indians): Rs 17.50 crore
Ben Stokes (Chennai Super Kings): Rs 16.25 crore
IPL 2024 Auction
Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 24.75 crore
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Rs 20.50 crore
Daryl Mitchell (Chennai Super Kings): Rs 14 crore
