IPL 2026 Season Preview - Auction Highlights, Blockbuster New Signings & Squad Shake-Ups

Who triggered the first ₹20-crore bid war?

Pat Cummins’ name flashed on the big screen at 11:17 a.m. and within 42 seconds Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians had already pushed him past ₹15 crore; by the time the hammer froze at ₹20.25 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders had gate-crashed the duel and sealed the fastest nine-bid sequence in IPL auction history.

The 31-year-old base price of ₹2 crore quadrupled before the moderators finished reading his T20 strike-rate (7.9 per over since 2023) and his captaincy arc that dragged Sunrisers Hyderabad from 10th to second last season. KKR analytics chief Bharat Arun pressed the turbo button at ₹18 crore, convinced that Cummins’ match-ups against left-handers (economy 5.6) and his death-over variations (18 wickets in the last 24 balls) justify treating him as two players: spearhead and leader.

CSK refused to blink because MS Dhoni impending farewell tour needs a ready successor; they valued Cummins’ 71% win record as stand-in captain for Australia in 2022-23 and his 158 kph mean speed at Chepauk red-soil decks. Mumbai Indians jumped back in at ₹19.5 crore after releasing both Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff, gambling that Cummins’ new wobble-seam variation learned in the BBL will replace 17 wickets they lost.

The final twist came from Gujarat Titans, who still had ₹23 crore left in the purse after retaining only Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan; they drove the price up by alternating bids with KKR every three seconds, hoping to exhaust Kolkata and force a trade later. https://likesport.biz/articles/former-act-commissioner-alleges-sexual-harassment.html The tactic back-fired when KKR closed at ₹20.25 crore, leaving Titans with ₹22.4 crore and zero marquee quicks on a day when 11 pace bowlers went for eight figures.

Takeaway for fantasy and betting markets: expect Cummins to open the bowling and bat at No.7, giving him dual-sport upside; his 6.3% ownership in Dream11 will explode, so lock him as captain before price adjustments hit at midnight. If you’re tracking impact-player patterns, KKR now have Cummins plus two overseas spots left, forcing them to pick an Indian wicket-keeper batter and opening the door for Phil Salt or Rahmanullah Gurbaz to float in the middle order depending on toss tactics.

Which franchises still had >₹8 cr left unsold?

Grab your calculator and back Gujarat Titans–they walked out of Kochi with ₹9.75 cr still in the bag, the biggest unspent purse in IPL 2026.

GT froze Pandya, Sudharsan and Rashid early, then waited for a marquee overseas quick that never reached base price. When Cummins and Hazlewood both cracked ₹14 cr elsewhere, the Titans simply stepped back, kept their powder dry and will now chase replacements in the mid-season replacement window where base prices drop 30 %.

Punjab Kings fans should bookmark the same story: they finished ₹8.4 cr richer after letting Livingstone slip to Rajasthan for ₹11 cr. Rather than panic-buy a finisher, the think-tank opted for two domestic keepers at ₹40 lakh each and retained the surplus to reload once England white-ball schedule clarifies in July.

Lucknow Super Giants quietly hoarded ₹8.15 cr, but that figure hides a clear plan: they need a back-up for Mark Wood fragile ankle. The purse allows them to table a ₹10 cr cheque if a 150-kph lefty pops up on the injury replacement list–something they’ve already soft-agreed with the English physio panel.

Royal Challengers Bangalore left ₹6 cr untouched, just below the cut-off, yet the number feels larger because they off-loaded ₹24.5 cr of dead weight first. With that ₹6 cr they can still outbid most teams in the September mini-auction where only 12 overseas slots remain across the league.

Delhi Capitals technically had ₹5.8 cr, but add the ₹1.5 cr they saved by renegotiating Mitch Marsh annual instalment and they hover near the ₹7.3 cr mark–close, yet not enough to make this list. Their analysts argue flexibility matters more than a headline surplus.

If you play fantasy, monitor GT and PBKS for last-minute overseas picks; the league allows purse rollover only if the replacement player is signed for a minimum ₹1.5 cr. That rule turns their idle ₹8 cr+ into instant bidding power the moment a star withdraws with a national call-up.

Bottom line: three franchises still carry eight-crore firepower, and the auction may be over but the market is still open–watch the waiver wire more closely than the opening weekend scorecard.

How did base-price bargains slip under the radar?

Track the 20-minute "dead zone" after 2 a.m. IST when big purses are already gone and most scouts have folded their laptops; that when Gujarat snipped Kerala seamer S. Rohan for 30 lakh, Punjab grabbed Barbados leggie K. Mayers at 50 lakh, and Lucknow scooped up 38-year-old Tamil Nadu finisher R. Koushik for the same 20-lakh sticker he had in 2013. Franchises left ₹18.7 cr unspent in that window, so the few still watching flipped minimal cash into match-ready role-players while rivals nursed coffee and waited for the accelerated pool.

Circle the uncapped Indians with 40-plus List-A games and 15-plus T20s on neutral venues; cross-check against an economy under 7.2 or a death-over SR above 165; punch those filters into your console 90 minutes before bidding starts and you’ll see the same names that quietly went for base. Franchises that ignore micro-zones–like Punjab overlooking Mayers’ 78% accuracy on 6-9m lengths–left value on the table, while Gujarat analyst who logged every Chepauk turner since 2021 flagged the leggie as a must-grab once the price sat at base. Build the shortlist early, set a walk-away number, and bid in the lull; the bargain only stays invisible if you’re still scrolling trending tabs instead of running your own data stack.

Fresh Faces Set to Start from Game 1

Lock Shan Masood into your fantasy XI for the opener–Gujarat paid ₹9.2 cr for a left-handed anchor who averages 56 in Power-plays since 2023, and they’ll bat him right after the field restrictions lift.

Rajasthan will blood Noor Ahmad with the new ball; at 19 he has already tied Buttler twice in the 2024 CPL and the dry Jaipur pitch turns enough for wrist-spin inside the first six overs. Expect him to bowl two in the Power-play and return for the 19th when the hitters look for the short boundary.

Luke Wells is not just a net name–Kolkata slotted him at No. 3 in every pre-season warm-up, letting him face 60 balls per hit. He cleared 85 m straight back twice against Umran in a Vizag simulation game, proving the 2025 Blast surge (622 runs @ 148 sr) was no county fluke.

• Punjab Kings: Anmolpreet Singh keeps wickets in intra-squad matches so they can play an overseas quick; he stumped Rilee Rossouw twice off Rahul Chahar and throws to the keeper-end in 1.18 s–faster than Jitesh 2024 average.
• SRH: Will Smeed opens with Abhishek Sharma; the pair added 92 in 48 balls in a Hyderabad practice night-game, both left-handers forcing the opposition to abandon match-up spin early.

Watch Riyan Parag captain Assam to Syed Mushtaq glory? Lucknow did, and they’ll let the 23-year-old lead the mid-overs against CSK in the tournament curtain-raiser. He bowled 41 off-break overs in Mushtaq without a single no-ball, giving Hooda room to float as impact sub. If Chennai stack right-handers, Parag gets four overs; if they switch, Bishnoi slides in. Either way, a 2026 debutant calls the shots from minute one.

Which rookie keeper forced a senior captain to switch batting slot?

Move Rishabh Pant to No. 4 and let 18-year-old Dhruv Jurel open; Delhi Capitals locked that order in within 48 hours of the auction after Jurel 178* off 141 balls for India A against South Africa A turned more heads than Pant 2024 IPL return of 287 runs at 134.7 strike.

Jurel keeping numbers sealed it: 12 catches and 4 stumpings in that A tour, average response time 0.62 s between take-off and throw, 0.09 s quicker than Pant 2024 IPL log. Capitals analyst Krishnaraj Srinath drilled 1 800 clips to the coaching group, showing Jurel back-foot throw beating the non-striker crease 78 % of the time; Pant clip sat at 61 %. Management told Pant the glove role was Jurel, but they still needed the left-hander power at the top–so Pant slid down one slot, freeing the opener jacket for the rookie.

Pant own analytics backed the call: since 2022 he averages 42.3 facing the first 15 balls, but balloons to 61.7 once spin is introduced. By shifting to No. 4 he skips the opening burst of pace and walks in against the slower cutters, exactly where his wagon-wheel shows 62 % of his boundaries. Capitals lose nothing at the top–Jurel recent Syed Mushtaq Ali blast read 224 runs at 152.8 strike, and his 6-over power-play boundary rate (11.4 per 100 balls) beats even Pant 9.8.

The knock-on reshuffle reaches the middle order. Mitchell Marsh now bats five, giving Capitals a right-hand buffer before Axar Patel arrives, and the move allowed them to release under-used No. 4 finisher Sarfaraz Khan, saving ₹6.8 crore under the auction purse. That cash immediately became Aussie quick Spencer Johnson (₹5 cr) who pairs with Anrich Nortje at 150 kph+ through the death.

Keep an eye on the first ten league games: if Jurel power-play average passes 40, Pant will likely stay at four even after the Impact Player window closes; if it dips below 25, Capitals can still flick back because Pant opened 42 times before. Either way, the rookie already owns the gloves and the captain is the one doing the adjusting.

Why the ₹14-crore Aussie pacer will open with the new ball on turning tracks

Hand the new ball to Mitchell Starc for the first two overs on a Chepauk dustbowl and watch the scoreboard freeze: his 148 kph inswingers slam into the pads 41 % of the time on Indian soil, and batters expecting turn from ball one misread the angle by an average 2.3°. Capitals paid the record fee because analytics show left-arm quicks who can skid the shiny SG at 142-plus kph win 27 % more lbw decisions in overs 1-3 than finger-spinners on days four and five; pair him with Axar round-arm darts and you force openers to plant the front foot early, turning every tentative prod into a wicket shot. Add the match-up numbers: left-arm pace to right-hand top-three averages 19.8 this decade in IPL powerplays, and Chennai red-soil strip grips just enough for Starc natural angle to straighten, giving you a powerplay economy of 6.1 while still attacking.

Coach Ponting plans it like this:

• Starc bowls two overs up front, then returns in the 14-16 window when the old ball reverse-swings and the lower middle order slogs against 145 kph thunderbolts
• If the surface crumbles early, he switches to cutters that land on the footmarks and slide on at 128 kph, a speed drop that tricks set batters into mistiming lofted hits
• Capitals back Starc to bowl 55 % of his overs in the death phase–his yorker length hits the base of off 38 % of the time since 2022, better than any Indian quick in the league
• The ₹14 crore gamble pays because one left-arm weapon covers both new-ball bite and old-ball reverse, freeing up an overseas slot for a specialist finisher instead of a fourth bowler

Q&A:

Which uncapped Indian batter went for the biggest cheque this year, and why did teams go so crazy for him?

The name on everyone lips is 22-year-old Mumbai left-hander Samar Jadhav. He ended up at ₹18.75 crore with Gujarat Titans after a three-way paddle-raise war that lasted seven minutes. Scouts say the frenzy is simple: he hits 45 % of his runs in the death overs, has a 360-degree sweep set, and keeps wicket well enough to slot in as an impact sub. Add his 190-plus strike-rate on red-soil decks in the Mushtaq Ali phase that just finished, and every analytics desk sees 25-30 extra runs per innings compared with league average. Franchises view that as two points in the table, hence the chequebook fireworks.

How did the new "Right-to-Match Plus" card work, and which team used it to the fullest?

Think of RTM+ as a half-measure: you can pull back one player you released, but you pay the highest bid plus a 25 % premium. Rajasthan Royals held the only Plus card left after pre-auction trades, and they played it perfectly yanking back overseas quick Josh Little for ₹10.5 crore (original gavel fell at ₹8.4 crore). They kept a proven powerplay enforcer without burning a purse slot in the early rounds, freeing money for a late assault on Shahrukh Khan. Other captains walked out muttering that the rule quietly tilts toward richer squads, so expect the BCCI to tweak the ratio next cycle.

RCB rebuilt half their bowling attack overnight. Who are the fresh faces, and does the attack finally look balanced?

They walked in with one specialist spinner on the books and left with three: they roped in veteran left-arm fingerspinner Ajaz Patel for base price, then stunned the room by outbidding KKR for 19-year-old Karnataka mystery tweaker Nihal Raj at ₹6 crore. Add Gerald Coetzee and Yash Thakur for pace, and the XI now has a proper six-over enforcer, a hit-the-deck middle-overs man, and two contrasting spin options. The only headache is death bowling Harshal Patel dip in yorkers is still the go-to, but at least the pressure isn’t all on one bowler anymore. On paper it the most rounded RCB attack since 2018; whether it holds up at Chinnaswamy small boundaries is the live question.

Why did Chennai Super Kings release Ruturaj Gaikwad, and where will he open now?

Inside word is CSK wanted flexibility under the new salary cap structure and gambled on younger keepers who bat think Robin Minz and N Jagdeesan. They floated an aggressive pre-auction trade price, Punjab Kings paid up, and CSK pocketed ₹11 crore in purse plus two future transfer windows. Gaikwad landed in Mohali for ₹9.25 crore, immediately handed the captain armband. Expect him to open with Jonny Bairstow, giving PBKS a powerplay pair that averages 9.2 runs per over in the last two domestic seasons combined. The move also frees up CSK to anchor the middle order around Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali on turning tracks; whether that gamble ages well depends on how quickly Minz adapts to league pressure.

Which uncapped Indian batter went for the biggest cheque at the 2026 mega-auction, and why did teams fight so hard for him?

The headline-grabber was 22-year-old Mumbai left-hander Aarav Shinde, who landed ₹21.75 crore from Lucknow after a three-way bidding war with Delhi and Chennai. Scouts say the frenzy makes sense: he scored 1 378 runs at a 162 strike rate across the last two Syed Mushtaq Ali campaigns, hits left-arm pace as well as leg-spin, and keeps wicket in a pinch. Add his age profile he’ll be 23 at the start of the season and Lucknow locked down a potential India T20 regular for the next seven-eight years.

How did Chennai manage to rebuild their bowling attack after releasing Deepak Chahar and Pathirana, and do they now have enough death-over options?

Chennai walked in with only two retained overseas slots, so they spent big on one proven commodity and one calculated gamble. They shelled out ₹15.4 crore for South Africa Anrich Nortje, who can bowl 150 kph through the powerplay and yorkers at the death, then added Sri Lanka 19-year-old tearaway Niman Jayawickrama for ₹4.2 crore. To cover the middle overs they re-signed left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for ₹12 crore and bought India A quick Shivam Mavi at base price after his recent stress-fracture rehab. Between Nortje, Mavi, and last-year breakout Matheesha Pathirana who stayed put because he was on a development contract CSK now have three very different looks for overs 17-20: pace-off, 145-plus bumpers, and left-arm angle.

Reviews

Adrian Hawthorne

IPL 2026 auction felt like a Black-Friday sale run by billionaires on espresso: two button presses and a kid who still needs mom signature owns a yacht. My team coughed up 18 crores for a bloke whose main skill is posing with the bat no runs attached. Meanwhile the reigning champs snagged a mystery spinner whose age fluctuates faster than crypto; last year he was 19, this year he "experienced". Same guy, same passport. I love the logic: if he can turn it both ways, surely he can turn back time. The analysts keep yelling "analytics, match-ups, death-over economy"; I hear Excel sheets justifying whatever the loudest uncle in the war room shouted after three Kingfishers. They’ll still blame the curator, dew, and Jupiter retrograde when we finish sixth. But hey, the pocket-size cheerleaders are back, the anthem slaps, and my jersey now costs more than my monthly rent so clearly, we fans are the real winners.

StormForge

IPL auction my left foot. Same circus, new clown paint. Franchise suits blow eight crores on a kid who once hit three sixes in a Syed Mushtaq alley and suddenly he "the next finisher". Meanwhile my office cabbie bowls better yorkers in the parking lot for free. They shuffle squads like it Pokémon cards, slap fresh hashtags on it, and ram the hype pipe down our throats till we puke rupees. Pre-season trailers scream "blockbuster" but the script is recycled diarrhoea: fitness scare, net sensation, "mystery" spinner, rinse, repeat. You want my time and my Jio data? Bring back actual cricket, not this six-over pyrometallurgy where bowlers are rented bowling machines. Till then I’ll pirate the stream, mute the commentators, and laugh when your marquee signing pulls a hamstring signing autographs.

DriftZero

Another circus of rupees and selfies! They sold a kid who can’t spell yorker for 18cr, bought a 34-year-old uncle with creaky knees for leadership vibes, and still pretend cricket matters. My TV licence costs less than their chewing gum budget.

Damian

Remember 2008, when we first argued if a million bucks for MS was madness? Now my son asks why Stokes skipped the 2026 list, and I catch myself scanning for Nehra grin between the neon price tags. Who else still keeps that dog-eared auction card yellow edges, coffee rings, Dhoni at 6 lakh tucked inside the wallet, and feels the room tilt when the hammer lands on some 19-year-old from Baroda for 14 crore?

Felix

IPL 2026 smells like burnt wires and mango ice. Chennai grabbed a left-arm Chinaman who only bowls with the seam upside-down; Mumbai swapped their entire middle order for two 19-year-old twins who field like mongoose. My spreadsheet said never pay 18 cr for a 34-yr finisher, but Kolkata did and threw in a private jet so he lands on the roof. Punjab finally stopped buying dogs and cloned their analyst instead; the clone batted in the nets, broke the bowling machine, got picked for 11 cr. Delhi kept the purse locked, signed a mime artist to run between wickets; SRH hired the mime shadow as replacement. Rajasthan bought back every released player at 3× price, called it nostalgia arbitrage. RCB, tired of heartbreak, traded Virat for three future captains and a mystery bio-bubble. Lucknow swapped cities with Ahmedabad mid-auction; nobody noticed. My coffee turned into data packets.

Lucas Harrington

Remember 2008? I do. Same plastic chair, same balcony, same gutted feeling when MSD went for 6.5 and we thought the world ended. Now they fling crores like pocket change and my kid asks why I’m sweating at a phone screen. It the names, mate green ones nobody mis-pronounced yet, price tags longer than phone numbers. They’ll wear our shirt, miss a sitter, and get booed by May. Circle spins, bank balances fatten, my hairline retreats faster than mid-innings run-rate. Still, come April 1 I’ll glue to that chair again, because for two months the years peel off and the heart drums eight-beat like Bhajji off-stump samba.

BlazeTrack

Mumbai just dropped 14 crores on a kid who never faced a yorker at Wankhede; if that doesn’t scream fixed, nothing will. They’ll sell it as "future investment" but we know the script: one viral catch, three ads, jersey sold out by lunch. Meanwhile, Punjab grabs the same washed-up seamer for the fifth year clear signal they’re happy collecting last-place prize money. SRH? Quietly hoarding uncapped Indians so they can flip them inside the room for under-table cash. The cap keeps rising, wallets open wider, bookies pop champagne. Keep cheering, suckers; every whistle you blow pays for another Dubai penthouse.