The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16. For the third year in a row, the IPL auction will be place outside of India.
A mini-auction was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ahead of the 2024 IPL season. Meanwhile, the 2025 mega-auction took place over two days in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Franchises must first sort the list of players they want to release and keep from their last season’s squads by 3 p.m. IST on November 15. Following that, they will be given a registered pool of players to shortlist. That huge list will then be trimmed so that IPL can finish the auction pool.
It is worth noting that the trading window opened following the 2025 season of the cash-rich league. It will run until a week before the auction, then resume till a month before the start of the IPL 2026. Meanwhile, the ten franchises will be unable to move a player acquired through the 2026 auction.
Only two trades have been officially announced thus far. Shardul Thakur, an experienced India all-rounder, has transferred from Lucknow Super Giants to the Mumbai Indians for INR 2 crore. The five-time champions have also signed West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford from the Gujarat Titans for INR 2.6 crore.
More player swaps and trades are expected to be announced over the coming days. One of the most significant announcements is anticipated to include the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals. According to sources, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran are joining the inaugural champions in exchange for Sanju Samson. Fans are waiting with bated breath to see which players will be discharged and which will be retained on November 15.
The tentative window for IPL 2026 is March 15–May 31. The defending champions are Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who won their maiden title earlier this year by defeating Punjab Kings at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
