IPL 2026 Auction Unsold Players: took place in Abu Dhabi IPL 2026 Tremendous drama was seen from the very first bid in the auction, when Cameron Green was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record Rs 25.20 crore. Yet, amidst all this chaos, many big names surprised fans when they remained unsold. No one bid for a once reliable player like Devon Conway and an explosive young player like Jake Fraser-McGurk. This mini-auction revamped the team list, but the list of unsold players highlighted the drastic changes in the league.
Special features of this time’s auction
In this event held at the Etihad Center on Tuesday (16 December), 10 teams filled 77 places out of 369 players. While Green became the most expensive foreign player in the history of the IPL auction, Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer became the joint most expensive uncapped players in the IPL auction, bought by CSK for Rs 14.2 crore.
Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan
Initial setbacks included Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan going unsold, but they later got deals; Shaw was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 75 lakh and Sarfaraz was bought by Chennai Super Kings for the same price. But the real surprise was in the group of capped foreign players, where no one bid for the big names of T20.
david miller
Capitals buying David Miller at his base price (2 crores) was a bit of a relief, but the uncertainty of the auction was clearly visible. Teams gave more importance to fast bowling and the depth of domestic players, due to which familiar faces were left behind.
These players remained unsold
devon conway
Devon Conway’s fate was the most shocking. The New Zealand opener, who has been a key player for Chennai Super Kings and has scored more than 1080 IPL runs at a strike rate of 140, participated in the auction with a base price of ₹2 crore. But no one bid for them.
Jake Fraser-McGurk
Jake Fraser-McGurk, a 23-year-old Australian youth player, had it even worse. Despite performing brilliantly in domestic cricket, no one showed any interest in his base price of ₹2 crore. Famous for hitting sixes, this player who was released from Delhi Capitals will now look to play county cricket to re-establish his identity.
jonny bairstow
England’s Jonny Bairstow (base price Rs 1 crore) also joined the troubles of foreign players. The aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman, who scored more than 1,500 IPL runs, did not find any buyer due to lack of vacancies in the teams. Afghanistan’s mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2 crore) and Sri Lanka’s Mahish Theekshana (2 crore) also remained unsold despite performing well in the T20 World Cup.
Deepak Hooda
Indian all-rounder Deepak Hooda (75 lakhs) was a player who surprised everyone in domestic cricket. Despite being an experienced player and the lifeblood of the middle-order of Lucknow Super Giants, his remaining unsold is an indication that now teams are giving more preference to uncapped (without playing international matches) players.
Other key players included West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph (2 crore), New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell (2 crore), and England’s Gus Atkinson (2 crore); All these big players are no longer part of any franchise.
Possible reasons for these players remaining unsold
Why were they ignored? Some possible reasons for this could be the lack of budget for the teams after retaining the players, as well as the influx of young players in large numbers. Teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians have placed big bets on Indian players who have not played international cricket yet, so that they can save the four slots earmarked for foreign players. Some players suffered due to their injury history—such as Conway’s recent minor injuries and Bairstow’s decline in performance—while others simply did not fit the teams’ needs. Some players were bought in the later rounds of the auction, but many players still returned empty handed, which gives an idea of the tough competition and challenges of the IPL.
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