IPL 2026 Auction LIVE Streaming Details: Check Time, Venue, TV Channel To Watch Indian Premier League Auction

The IPL 2026 auction for the next Indian Premier League season takes place on Tuesday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with all 10 franchises aiming to plug key gaps. The mini-auction starts at 2:30 PM IST and will be shown live in India on TV and digital platforms.

A total of 359 cricketers are in the IPL 2026 auction pool, including 246 Indian players and 113 overseas names. Teams can collectively sign a maximum of 77 players, of which 31 slots are set aside for foreign recruits, as each franchise is allowed a squad of up to 25 players.

IPL 2026 auction purse, franchises and squad rules

Across the league, the remaining purse for the IPL 2026 auction stands at ₹237.55 crore, creating room for several aggressive bids. Kolkata Knight Riders enter with the biggest balance at ₹64.3 crore and also have the most rebuilding to do, needing to fill 13 vacancies after the latest retention window.

Chennai Super Kings hold ₹43.40 crore, while Sunrisers Hyderabad have ₹25.50 crore in reserve, and both face important decisions after underwhelming campaigns. Other franchises are expected to focus on minor tweaks rather than complete overhauls, since this event is a mini-auction, unlike the previous mega auction that allowed full squad reshapes.

Each side can register no more than eight overseas players in the final squad, which forces careful planning around foreign signings. Mega-auction features such as the Right-to-Match (RTM) card will not apply at the IPL 2026 auction, keeping the process simpler and limiting late tactical turns by franchises.

IPL 2026 auction player sets, base prices and overseas salary cap

For the IPL 2026 auction, organisers have divided the 359 names into 42 sets, grouped by role and experience. Players are classified as batters, bowlers, all-rounders or wicketkeepers, and then tagged as capped or uncapped. The sets are auctioned in numerical order, shaping how teams manage funds across different phases.

Set 1 features capped batters, including Cameron Green, David Miller and Prithvi Shaw, giving teams an early chance to chase top-order options. The first uncapped players appear in Set 6, and unlike past mega auctions, there is no separate marquee set this time, so star players are spread across the list.

The IPL 2026 auction uses base price brackets that range from ₹40 lakh at the lower end to ₹2 crore at the top tier. A new rule also introduces a salary ceiling for overseas players, linking it to existing retention numbers and past mega-auction bids to prevent runaway deals for international stars.

The IPL 2026 auction caps any single overseas player’s fee at ₹18 crore, which is the lower figure between the highest retention amount and the top bid from the last mega auction, where Rishabh Pant drew ₹27 crore from Lucknow Super Giants. Any bid beyond this limit will be collected by the BCCI and directed to its player development programme.

This event marks the third straight season that the Indian Premier League auction is hosted outside India, following Dubai in 2024 and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for the 2025 mega auction. Live streaming of the IPL 2026 auction in India will be available on the JioHotstar app and website, while television coverage will run on the Star Sports Network channels.