Who is Mallika Sagar? IPL 2026 auctioneer under whose hammer lies fate of 369 players

IPL 2026 auction has begun at Abu Dhabi where the fate of 369 players will be decided. The 10 franchises need to fill 77 slots with each having a cap of maximum of 25 players including 8 overseas ones. And holding the hammer once again will be Mallika Sagar, the first ever female auctioneer at IPL, who will be at the helm for the fourth consecutive time.

50 year old Sagar had garnered the spotlight during the 2023 IPL auction where she ably led the show after veteran auctioneer Hugh Edmeades collapsed. Since then, Sagar has led the 024 mini-auction, last year's mega-auction and now the 2026 IPL auctions.

Who is Mallika Sagar?

Born in 1975 in Mumbai, Sagar holds a degree in Art History at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia. At the age of 26, she became the first Indian woman auctioneer at Christie’s in New York. Her first taste in auctioneering came when she got the opportunity to read a book with a senior auctioneer as its protagonist.

She later returned to Mumbai and collaborated with institutions like Pundole’s Art Gallery that cemented her position as an auctioneer.

Sagar stepped into the spotlight when she became the first female to conduct the Pro Kabaddi League auction in 2021, where she found a place in the sports world. Later on, she also became the first ever auctioneer for the Women's Premier League.

After the successful run in the WPL auction, Sagar was also included as a standby during the IPL 2022 auction. Her major break would come just a year later during the 2023 Auction owing to Huge Edmeades' health

Cameron Green

The IPL 2026 auction was off to a flying start on Tuesday as Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green was sold for ₹25.2 crore to the Kolkata Knight Riders. Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and KKR were the three franchises to push for Green but CSK maxed out at ₹25 crore.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians managed to buy back Quinton de Kock for the wicket keeper batter's base price of ₹1 crore. Similarly, Delhi Capitals snapped up England wicket keeper Ben Duckett for his base price of ₹2 crore while KKR bought Kiwi top order batter Fin Allen for ₹2 crore as well.

Some of the big names that went unsold in the auction so far include English wicketkeepr batter Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Smith. Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Indian wicket keeper batter KS Bharat also couldn't land a buyer in Abu Dhabi.