IPL 2026 Auction: Green goes to KKK for record fee of 25.20 Cr; RCB bag Venkatesh for Rs 7 Cr

Abu Dhabi, Dec 16 (IANS) Australian all-rounder Cameron Green bagged the biggest pay cheque at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction here at the Etihad Arena, when three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired his services for a whopping price of Rs 25.20 crore, while reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru bought India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 7 crore.

Registered as a batter, owing to a goof-up by his manager during the player auction registration, Green went past the previous record set by his Australia teammate Mitchell Starc, whom KKR bought for Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.

Green made his IPL debut in the 2023 season after the Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him for Rs 17.5 crore. Notably, at the time, he became the second-most-expensive overseas player in IPL auction history, and the most expensive Australian player. Most recently, he played in IPL 2024 for RCB after being traded in from MI. In 12 innings, he made 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25 and picked up 10 wickets in 13 matches with the ball at an economy of 8.61.

Further in the capped batter’s list, South Africa’s David Miller went to Delhi Capitals at his base price of Rs 2 crore, while India’s Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan and New Zealand opener Devon Conway, formerly with Chennai Super Kings, and Australia batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, formerly with DC, went unsold.

In the capped all-rounder slot, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquired the services of Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) for Rs. 2 crore, while RCB bagged Venkatesh for Rs. 7 crore. Meanwhile, other capped all-rounders, England’s Gus Atkinson, India’s Deepak Hooda, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder, remained unsold.

A total of 1390 players registered for the Player Auction, out of which 350 players were shortlisted; 240 Indian and 110 are overseas recruits. The pool comprises 224 uncapped Indian players and 14 uncapped overseas players, adding significant depth and fresh talent to this year’s auction roster.

bc/vi