Cameron Green becomes most expensive overseas player; uncapped Indians go big

Credit: ESPNcricinfo

Australian allrounder Cameron Green has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 25.20 crore (approximately US$2.8 million), making him the third-most expensive player sold at an IPL auction, and the most expensive overseas player ever.

KKR also bought the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2026 auction — Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana — for INR 18 crore (approximately US$1.97 million).

The limelight on auction day, however, was stolen by uncapped Indian players, with 20-year-old left-arm spin allrounder Prashant Veer and 19-year-old wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma going to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a staggering INR 14.2 crore each. Both broke Avesh Khan’s 2022 record of INR 10 crore for the most expensive uncapped Indian player at an IPL auction. Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi also enjoyed a big payday, with Delhi Capitals (DC) buying him for INR 8.4 crore.

KKR, who began the auction with the largest purse of INR 64.3 crore, had to stave off competition from CSK — who had the second-highest purse of INR 43.4 crore — for Green. The bidding began with Mumbai Indians (MI), but they dropped out quickly due to a purse of only INR 2.75 crore. Rajasthan Royals (RR), with INR 16.05 crore available, pushed the bid to INR 13.40 crore before exiting, at which point CSK entered the contest against KKR.

The bidding for Green took more than ten minutes to conclude. He now ranks behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) on the list of the most expensive IPL players. The previous most expensive overseas players were Mitchell Starc (INR 24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (INR 20.50 crore). However, Green will receive only INR 18 crore due to a maximum salary cap imposed on overseas players at mini-auctions. The excess amount of INR 7.2 crore will be transferred to the BCCI for player welfare.

Green first featured in the IPL in 2023, when MI bought him for INR 17.5 crore. He scored 452 runs at a strike rate of 160.28 and took six wickets. MI traded him to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the following year for the same amount. In 2024, he scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25 and claimed ten wickets. Green did not register for the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 as he was recovering from a back injury.

Green was one of only two players sold from the first set of batters on Tuesday, alongside South Africa’s David Miller, who went to DC at his base price of INR 2 crore. Jake Fraser-McGurk, Prithvi Shaw, Devon Conway and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold.

The subdued bidding continued into the first set of allrounders, with only two of seven players sold. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga at his base price of INR 2 crore. Venkatesh Iyer, who had been bought by KKR for INR 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, was sold to RCB for INR 7 crore. Liam Livingstone, Rachin Ravindra, Gus Atkinson, Wiaan Mulder and Deepak Hooda were unsold.

There was more activity in the first set of wicketkeepers, with MI buying South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, DC buying England’s Ben Duckett, and KKR securing New Zealand’s Finn Allen — all at their base prices. CSK, despite beginning the auction with the second-largest purse, did not buy a player from the first three sets.

CSK also did not bid for Pathirana, whom they had released after IPL 2025 at a price of INR 13 crore. Interest in Pathirana began with DC and LSG. Once the bidding reached INR 15.6 crore, DC withdrew, having a purse of INR 17.8 crore. KKR then entered and outbid LSG — who had INR 20.95 crore remaining — at INR 18 crore. After missing out on Pathirana, LSG immediately bought South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje at his base price of INR 2 crore.

RCB’s second purchase was New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy for INR 2 crore, who could serve as back-up for Josh Hazlewood.

CSK bid for leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi but stopped once the price reached INR 6 crore. Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) then continued the bidding, with Bishnoi eventually going to RR for INR 7.2 crore. West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein became CSK’s first signing at his base price of INR 2 crore, before their aggressive bidding for uncapped Indian players later in the auction.

“It’s a little bit about discipline. We had earmarked those players as being key spots for us, so we had to wait,” CSK coach Stephen Fleming said. “It’s very difficult because you see a lot of good players going at low prices, but you have to stick to your plan. In our case, we knew we would probably have to spend money at the back end. Otherwise, you find yourself in a real mess — it’s like an ice cream store: you have a scoop of everything and end up a little bit fatter than you should be.”

From the first ten sets of players, only 25 of the 70 on offer were sold, with Punjab Kings (PBKS) yet to place a bid.

Players bought at auction

KKR: Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Dahiya, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Mustafizur Rahman, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra

LSG: Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi

DC: David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka

RCB: Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Satwik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav

MI: Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar

RR: Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Ravi Singh

CSK: Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan

GT: Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder

SRH: Shivang Kumar, Salil Arora, Sakib Hussain, Omkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra

PBKS: Cooper Connolly

(ESPNcricinfo)