Former South African pacer Dale Steyn has selected his top five most coveted players for the IPL 2026 auction, which will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. The famous seamer selected Australian all-rounder Cameron Green as his first choice.
The 26-year-old missed the last IPL season due to injury, but has been in excellent T20I form since his return. Green’s bowling ability will undoubtedly make him one of the most sought-after by franchises.
Steyn stated on Star Sports:
“He has the ability to bat and bowl, so an incredible all-rounder. The flexibility with his batting. If you want, you can open the batting with him or bat him at 3 or bring him later down the order, maybe 6. He has the ability to hit the ball out the ground, which is exactly what you want in players at the IPL. And then he can also open the bowling so all-round, he is just an absolute perfect player to have and a perfect fit into most teams.”
Former South African teammate David Miller was Steyn’s second-most desired player at the auction.
“He fits in perfectly at No. 5, sometimes even No. 4. He is a finisher of the game but also someone who can play the long innings. So if you do find yourself in trouble, two or three wickets down, he can hold the innings together and still capitalize at the back end. One of the most destructive players, and it’s not just slogging, it’s calculative hitting. He’s just the perfect batter in T20s in the middle-order,” said Steyn.
Miller failed to apply some of that with LSG in IPL 2025 when he could manage just 153 runs at a mediocre strike-rate (less than 128) in his as many as 11 appearances, after three good seasons with GT.
Steyn’s third-choice was former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana and he said:
“He’s just such a unique bowler. Bowls a great slower ball and a great yorker, and can rush you with the bouncer. It takes batters a couple of deliveries to get used to him, which results in dot balls that are absolute gold dust in T20 cricket.”
Pathirana played a key role in CSK’s last title win in 2023, but was out of form during the 2025 season with 13 wickets in as many games at an average economy rate well above 10.
Steyn’s next pick is the fourth overseas player in the form of Liam Livingstone who was released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) while they marched on to win IPL 2025 title.
Dale Steyn names ex-KKR star as the only Indian on his desirable list
Dale Steyn’s final pick in the most premium players at IPL 2026 auction was ex-Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batting all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. The southpaw was signed for ₹23.75 crore in the 2025 auction but couldn’t rise up to expectations.
In 11 IPL 2025 matches, he managed just 142 runs at an average of 20.28 and strike rate of under-140.
“He has shown what he is capable of. And he is a high-profile Indian not playing for the national team right now. But he has tons of experience, and when you have that, and you are an Indian player, the rest of the squad feeds off it. He will rally together all the other guys, which is always a good sign,” said Steyn (via the aforementioned source).
Since making his IPL debut in 2021, Iyer has only played for KKR. The left-hander helped the team capture its third IPL title during a successful 2024 season.
