BCCI Narrows IPL 2026 Auction Pool to 350 Players, Quinton de Kock Among Surprise Inclusions

In a major shake-up ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has trimmed its initial longlist of 1,390 players to a concise pool of 350, marking a nearly 75% reduction. The revised roster, finalised after multiple rounds of consultation with franchises, also features 35 surprise entrants who were not part of the original list circulated to teams.

The auction is slated for December 16 at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena, beginning at 1 PM local time (2:30 PM IST), according to a notice sent to franchises late Monday night.

Surprise Overseas Entries

The standout addition is South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, who had been absent from the preliminary list. The 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, recently returned from international retirement, impressed with a century in Visakhapatnam, renewing franchise interest. De Kock enters the auction at a base price of INR 1 crore, half of the INR 2 crore he commanded in the previous mega auction, where he was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders before being released after an underwhelming season.

Other fresh overseas faces include:

• Sri Lanka: Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera, Dunith Wellalage

• Afghanistan: Arab Gul, Wahidullah Zadran

• West Indies: Akeem Auguste

• England & South Africa: Miles Hammond, Dan Lategan, Connor Eztherhuizen, George Linde, Bayanda Majola

Domestic Surprise Picks

The updated list also includes previously unlisted Indian players such as Vishnu Solanki, Parikshit Valsangkar, Sadek Hussain, Izaz Sawariya, and 20 others.

Auction Format

As per BCCI guidelines, the auction will start with capped players, grouped by specialist roles: batters, all-rounders, wicketkeeper-batters, fast bowlers, and spinners, followed by uncapped players in the same order.

The opening batch (BA1) features marquee names including Cameron Green, Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Prithvi Shaw, and David Miller, while Venkatesh Iyer heads the all-rounders bracket (AL1).

An accelerated phase is planned after the 70th player, beginning with Afghanistan’s Wahidullah Zadran. Players 71 to 350 will be included in this first acceleration round, with franchises allowed to propose unsold or unpresented names for a quick-fire additional round.

Complete List of New Inclusions

Overseas Players: Arab Gul (Afghanistan), Miles Hammond (England), Dan Lategan (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Connor Eztherhuizen (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Bayanda Majola (South Africa), Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Akeem Auguste (West Indies)

Indian Players: Sadek Hussain, Vishnu Solanki, Sabir Khan, Brijesh Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Aaron George, Jikku Bright, Srihari Nair, Madhav Bajaj, Shreevathsa Acharya, Yashraj Punja, Sahil Parakh, Roshan Waghsare, Yash Dicholkar, Ayaz Khan, Dhurmil Matkar, Naman Pushpak, Parikshit Valsangkar, Purav Agarwal, Rishabh Chouhan, Sagar Solanki, Izaz Sawariya, Aman Shekawat

The IPL 2026 mini-auction is set to be a high-stakes affair, with franchises eagerly eyeing both domestic talent and experienced international players to bolster their squads for the upcoming season.