IPL 2026: Top 5 expensive buys in the auction

The IPL 2026 mini-auction is done and dusted, as all teams added some top and significant names to their squads. Now, all sides will gear up for the upcoming season. However, since reports started to emerge that players like Australia’s all-rounder Cameron Green and Sri Lanka’s young pacer Matheesha Pathirana would be available for the auction, many fans expected these players to end up as the costliest buys. That prediction eventually turned out to be true.

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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) entered the mini-auction with the biggest purse of INR 64.30 crore. They showed clear intent and went all out, breaking the bank for the Australian all-rounder. For a whopping INR 25.20 crore, KKR bagged Cameron Green. After deciding not to retain their veteran all-rounder Andre Russell, the franchise needed a solid overseas all-round option, and Green is expected to fill that role. With this deal, Green became the most expensive overseas player in the history of the IPL.

KKR then once again showcased their dominance by acquiring Sri Lanka’s young pacer Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore. Death bowling has been a concern for the Kolkata-based franchise, and Pathirana could be the solution they were looking for. 

After that, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) showed immense faith in two uncapped Indian players — Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma — as they bought both of them for INR 14.20 crore each. With this, Veer and Kartik became the joint most expensive uncapped players in the history of the competition. Veer is considered a player with a skill set similar to Ravindra Jadeja, who was traded by CSK to Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the auction.

In the fifth spot comes England’s power-hitter and all-round option Liam Livingstone. Despite being part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season, he was not retained by the defending champions. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) showed faith in his all-round abilities and paid INR 13 crore to secure his services at the mini-auction.  

Here are the top 5 expensive buys in the IPL 2026 mini-auction

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