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Several high-profile players were left without buyers at the IPL 2026 auction as franchises prioritised balance, form, and budget over reputation. Tactical bidding, age concerns, and team combinations played a key role, proving that big names don’t always guarantee big bids.
The IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi delivered drama from the first hammer fall, with Cameron Green fetching a record ₹25.20 crore from Kolkata Knight Riders. Yet, amid the frenzy, several high-profile names stunned fans by going unsold. Once-reliable performers like Devon Conway and explosive youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk heard no bids. This mini-auction reshaped rosters, but the unsold list highlighted the league's ruthless evolution.
Auction highlights
Held on Tuesday (December 16), at the Etihad Centre, the event saw 10 teams fill 77 slots from 369 players. While Green became the most expensive overseas buy ever, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer became the joint most expensive uncapped buys in IPL Auction with CSK claiming both for 14.2 crores each.
Initial shocks included Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan passing the hammer unsold, only to snag late deals, Shaw to Delhi Capitals for ₹75 lakh and Sarfaraz to Chennai Super Kings at the same price. But true surprises lingered in the capped overseas pool, where T20 heavyweights drew silence.
David Miller's base-price snag by the Capitals ( ₹2 crore) offered brief relief, but the auction's unpredictability shone through. Teams prioritized pace attacks and domestic depth, sidelining familiar faces.
Shocking unsold stars
Devon Conway's fate topped the disbelief charts. The New Zealand opener, a Chennai Super Kings mainstay with over 1080 IPL runs at a strike rate near 140, entered at ₹2 crore. No paddle rose.
Jake Fraser-McGurk, the 23-year-old Australian prodigy, fared worse. Fresh off a blistering domestic season, his ₹2 crore base evoked zero interest. Known for six-hitting fireworks, the Delhi Capitals reject will now eye county stints to rebuild buzz.
England's Jonny Bairstow ( ₹1 crore base) added to the overseas woes. The aggressive keeper-batter, with 1,500+ IPL runs, couldn't sway bidders amid slot limits. Afghanistan's mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman ( ₹2 crore) and Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana ( ₹2 crore) also bombed out, despite T20 World Cup pedigrees.
Indian all-rounder Deepak Hooda ( ₹75 lakh) surprised domestically. A Lucknow Super Giants veteran with middle-order muscle, his unsold tag signals shifting preferences toward uncapped gems.
Other notables were West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph ( ₹2 crore), New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell ( ₹2 crore), and England's Gus Atkinson ( ₹2 crore), all powerhouses now franchise-free.
Possible reasons behind the snubs
Why the cold shoulder? Purse caution after retentions, plus a youth influx could be some of the reasons. Teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians bet big on untested Indians, saving slots for four overseas maximums. Injury histories haunted some, Conway's recent niggles, Bairstow's dips, while others mismatched team needs. The accelerated rounds salvaged a few, but many players still walked away empty-handed, highlighting IPL's cutthroat edge.
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