The Indian Premier League player auction lived up to its billing as one of the biggest flexes of financial muscle in sport as many players turned into millionaires in Abu Dhabi.
The Etihad Arena was the trading floor for this year's bidding war for a limited number of players, unlike last year's mega auction. All teams had retained and traded the majority of the players they needed for the 2026 season, with only a handful of reinforcements required.
Even so, there was more than enough left in the purse of each franchise as the auction started on Tuesday.
The biggest beneficiary of the day was Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, who was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders, who are still trying to set things right after letting go of their title winning captain Shreyas Iyer.
Green fetched a record bid of 252 million rupees ($2.8m) from Kolkata, making him the most expensive overseas recruit and breaking the record set by fellow Aussie Mitchell Starc, who had previously gone to the same franchise for 247.5m rupees.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana was equally sought after, signed up by Kolkata for 180m rupees ($2m).
There were some other eye catching auction battles, especially among uncapped players. Chennai Super Kings, who are going for a major overhaul of their system, pledged a big portion of their purse for two uncapped players.
Left-arm spinning allrounder Prashant Veer, 20, and record six hitter in domestic cricket Kartik Sharma, 19, were both snapped up by Chennai, who were earlier known for picking experienced players almost exclusively.
Below is the list of the top earning players for next season following the latest auction.
Highest paid cricketers of IPL 2026
1. Rishabh Pant – 270 million rupees ($3 million, approximately), Lucknow Super Giants
2. Shreyas Iyer – 267.5m rupees ($2.9m), Punjab Kings
3. Cameron Green – 252m rupees ($2.8m), Kolkata Knight Riders*
4. Heinrich Klaasen – 230 million rupees ($2.5m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
=5. Virat Kohli – 210m rupees ($2.3m), Royal Challengers Bengaluru
=5. Nicholas Pooran – 210m rupees ($2.3m), Lucknow Super Giants
=7. Arshdeep Singh – 180m rupees ($2m), Punjab Kings
=7. Matheesha Pathirana – 180m rupees ($2m), Kolkata Knight Riders
=7. Yashasvi Jaiswal - 180m rupees ($2m), Rajasthan Royals
=7. Yuzvendra Chahal – 180m rupees ($2m), Punjab Kings
=7. Ruturaj Gaikwad – 180m rupees ($2m), Chennai Super Kings
=7. Rashid Khan - 180m rupees ($2m), Gujarat Titans
=7. Jasprit Bumrah - 180m rupees ($2m), Mumbai Indians
=7. Sanju Samson - 180m rupees ($2m), Chennai Super Kings (trade)
=7. Pat Cummins - 180m rupees ($2m), Sunrisers Hyderabad
16. Shubman Gill – 165m rupees ($1.83m), Gujarat Titans
=17. Hardik Pandya – 163.5m rupees ($1.82m), Mumbai Indians
=17. Suryakumar Yadav – 163.5m rupees ($1.82m), Mumbai Indians
19. Rohit Sharma – 163m rupees ($1.81m), Mumbai Indians
20. Jos Buttler – 157.5m rupees ($1.75m), Gujarat Titans
21. Kartik Sharma – 142m rupees ($1.6m), Chennai Super Kings
21. Prashant Veer – 142m rupees ($1.6m), Chennai Super Kings
*Green to receive 180m rupees ($2m), with the remaining amount going to the Indian board.
