BCCI’s Last-Minute Change Before IPL Auction 2026 Leaves Franchises Crying ‘Unprecedented’; 19 New Players Added

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly added 19 new players to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction register, less than 24 hours before the bidding begins at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. With these late inclusions, the total number of players in the auction pool has risen to 369.

According to Cricbuzz, the move has been described by franchise officials and BCCI sources as unprecedented so close to an IPL auction. One franchise official said such a large number of last-minute additions had never been seen before.

The most high-profile name among the new entrants is Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been listed with a base price of ₹30 lakh. A consistent domestic performer and long-time national contender, Easwaran has been placed at No. 360 in the auction register.

Several overseas players have also been added. South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne enters the auction with a base price of ₹1.25 crore, while fellow South African all-rounder Ethan Bosch is listed at ₹75 lakh. Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has been included at a base price of ₹75 lakh, and New Zealand pacer Ben Sears is among the costliest of the late additions at ₹1.50 crore. Australian all-rounder Chris Green has been added at ₹75 lakh, while Malaysia international Virandeep Singh is listed at ₹30 lakh.

The domestic additions include Manisankar Murasingh (Tripura), Swastik Chikara (Uttar Pradesh), Chama Milind (Hyderabad), K.L. Shrijith (Karnataka), Rahul Raj Namala (Chhattisgarh), Virat Singh (Jharkhand), Tripuresh Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Rajesh Mohanty (Odisha), Swastik Samal (Odisha), Saransh Jain (Madhya Pradesh), Sooraj Sangaraju (Andhra) and Tanmay Agarwal (Hyderabad), all with base prices of ₹30 lakh.

Nine of the 19 players — including Murasingh, Chikara and Bosch — had briefly been included in the auction pool earlier before being withdrawn, and have now been reinstated following requests from franchises.

With the register now expanded to 369 players, franchises can bid for a maximum of 77 cricketers, assuming all teams fill their 25-player squad limits.