IPL 2026 Auction Highlights: CSK shatter records with Rs 14.2 crore buys Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma
Abu Dhabi: The IPL 2026 mega auction witnessed a dramatic turnaround in the uncapped players’ segment as Chennai Super Kings made headlines by splurging a record Rs 14.20 crore each on Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, rewriting the history books on an IPL auction day.
The auction began on a quiet note with the uncapped batters’ list failing to attract any buyers. Players such as Aarya Desai, Yash Dhull, Abhinav Manohar, Anmolpreet Singh, Atharva Taide and Abhinav Tejrana all went unsold, surprising many in the auction hall.
The tempo picked up sharply when Jammu and Kashmir allrounder Auqib Dar came under the hammer. Delhi Capitals won an intense bidding contest against Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure Dar’s services for a massive Rs 8.4 crore.
Chennai Super Kings then stole the spotlight when they went all out for allrounder Prashant Veer, fending off interest from four other franchises to land the youngster for Rs 14.20 crore. Among allrounders, Shivang Kumar was the only other player to draw attention, with Sunrisers Hyderabad picking him up for Rs 30 lakh, while several familiar names including Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tanush Kotian, Mahipal Lomror and Vijay Shankar remained unsold.
The biggest bidding war of the day unfolded in the wicketkeeper batters’ category. Kartik Sharma, the Rajasthan power hitter, attracted aggressive bids from Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad and CSK before the five time champions matched Veer’s price to seal another historic deal.
With these purchases, Veer and Kartik overtook Avesh Khan to become the most expensive uncapped players in IPL history. Avesh had earlier held the record after Lucknow Super Giants signed him for Rs 10 crore at the IPL 2023 auction.
In other wicketkeeper deals, Lucknow Super Giants bought Mukul Choudhary for Rs 2.6 crore, while Kolkata Knight Riders snapped up Tejasvi Singh for Rs 3 crore. Ruchit Ahir, Vansh Bedi and Tushar Raheja, however, failed to find takers.
The bowlers’ segment saw fast bowlers Sushant Mishra join Rajasthan Royals, Ashok Sharma head to Gujarat Titans, Naman Tiwari get picked by Lucknow Super Giants and Kartik Tyagi sign with Kolkata Knight Riders. Among spinners, Yash Raj Punja and Vignesh Puthur were signed by Rajasthan Royals, while Prashant Solanki was picked by KKR. Experienced names such as Karn Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, Shivam Shukla and Afghanistan’s Wahidullah Zadran went unsold.
