Abu Dhabi: When the bidding for Cameron Green began Tuesday afternoon, everyone in the room knew they were in for something special. And they did. The Australian all-rounder’s name was valued at ₹25.2 crore, breaking a seemingly untouchable record and becoming the most expensive foreign player ever in IPL history.
What made it even more dramatic was the way it happened. The Kolkata Knight Riders were not alone in their desperation. Rajasthan Royals were tough, then Chennai Super Kings stepped in. When the dust settled, Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR had its man and Green had just rewritten the record books. He would now be above his Australian pal Mitchell Starc, who had held the record with ₹24.75 crore just two years earlier.
But what’s special about this mini auction in Abu Dhabi for IPL 2026 is that it wasn’t just about a big purchase. The whole evening felt like a celebration of spending, with the franchises clearly having bigger budgets and even bigger ambitions. The 10 teams threw in a total of ₹215.45 crore across 77 players and, frankly, some of the money moves were absolute madness.
Take the Chennai Super Kings for example. They didn’t just invest money in experienced names. They were absolutely crazy about two uncapped Indian boys – Prashant Veer, a spinner from Uttar Pradesh, and Kartik Sharma, a wicketkeeper-batsman. Each commanded ₹14.2 crore. Let that sink in. Two players that no one has seen much of at the IPL level and they are co-owners of the record for the highest amount ever paid to an uncapped player. That’s the kind of confidence CSK has in its scouting.
Lucknow Super Giants were not shy either and spent ₹8.60 crore on Josh Inglis. Meanwhile, Chennai returned to bring in leg-spinner Rahul Chahar for ₹5.20 crore, bringing back the yellow colors to the Chepauk veteran.
The auction highlighted how much value teams place on domestic talent who do not yet play in an international country. Kashmir’s Aquib Dar moved to Delhi Capitals for 8.40 crore while Mangesh Yadav moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore for 5.20 crore. These were not throwaway purchases but serious investments in raw Indian talent.
The money continued to flow within the overseas brigade. Matheesha Pathirana landed in Kolkata for ₹18 crore, Liam Livingstone went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹13 crore and Mustafizur Rahman also found his way to KKR for ₹9.20 crore. Ravi Bishnoi joined Rajasthan for ₹7.20 crore while Venkatesh Iyer was the top buy from RCB for ₹7 crore.
