IPL 2026 Auction: Why CSK spent heavily on youth and KKR on overseas performers

IPL 2026 Auction

KKR wanted an Andre Russell replacement; CSK has pressed the reset button

To put the IPL mini-auction in a nutshell, it was an afternoon where Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, entering the table with a purse of Rs 64.30 crore and Rs 43.40 crore respectively, shook the room in Abu Dhabi. Among the top six buys on Tuesday evening, five came from their table.

The prices told a story in itself. Top eight buys were Cameron Green (KKR, Rs 25.30 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (KKR, Rs 18 Cr), Kartik Sharma (CSK Rs 14.20 Cr), Prashant Veer (CSK Rs 14.20), Liam Livingstone (SRH, Rs 13 Cr), Mustafizur Rahman (KKR, Rs 9.20 Cr), Josh Inglis (LSG, 8.60 Cr), and Auqib Nabi (DC, Rs 8.40 Cr). A mix of overseas players, who are far from proven consistent performers and uncapped Indians who are unknown commodity but franchises willing to take a gigantic leap of faith.