IPL Auction | Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma shock cricketing world amid expected Green bidding war

‌As the dust settles on another auction in the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the huge sums drawn by the uncapped domestic players overshadowed the record-breaking signing of Cameron Green in a mini auction. Though the Australian all-rounder was the subject of a bidding war between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, before ending up with the former for INR 25.2 crore. But it was both surprising and refreshing to see the home-grown and lesser-known players creating a flutter in the big scene with their huge-money exploits.

Spin bowling all-rounder Prashant Veer and wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma ended with heavy pay cheques, after being signed by Chennai Super Kings for identical sums of INR 14.2 crore, while pacer Auqib Dar walked home with a sum of 8.4 crore from Delhi Capitals. Apart from the trio, five more uncapped local players ended with huge sums in their bank accounts.

We have tried classifying some of the signings into various categories like steals, overvalued, and unexpected categories and let us jump straight in.

Steals

David Miller

Though David Miller did not have a particularly good season with the Lucknow Super Giants, which led to the franchise releasing him, he has always been considered a bankable performer in the IPL circuit. A look at his overall numbers in the league tells us why. The Proteas batter has more than 3000 runs at an average of 35.77 and a strike rate of 138.60 in 14 seasons, also winning the title with Gujarat Titans in 2022.

Delhi Capitals would consider themselves fortunate to get the services of the southpaw for just INR 2 crore. He joins countryman Tristan Stubbs and will shepherd the talented but inexperienced trio of Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam in Delhi’s lower middle order.

Wanindu Hasaranga

A leg spinner, who can also double up as a handy batter lower down the order, is sure to make the auction floor on fire. But the reputed name of Wanindu Hasaranga caught the viewers by surprise, earning just a single bid of INR 2 crore from Lucknow Super Giants.

But the franchise is not complaining, as they pocketed the Sri Lankan all-rounder for his base price. With 46 wickets from 37 games at an economy of 8.41 and a strike rate of 17.3, Hasaranga will be worth every penny for LSG in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

Venkatesh Iyer

A hefty price tag of INR 23.75 crore weighed on the mind of Venkatesh Iyer, ultimately resulting in a disappointing season for him. The left-handed batter accumulated just 142 runs at an average of 20.28 and a strike rate of 139.21. But given what he has done for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the past and his handy medium pacers, he was sure to go for a hefty sum yet again.

And though the teams started with their bids hesitantly, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru stepped up the ante. And finally, RCB had an excellent signing at INR 7 crore, a player who can fit into their number four slot like a dream and make an already dangerous-looking batting lineup even more explosive.

Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje were among the other relatively inexpensive signings, for one and two crores, respectively, to the Mumbai Indians and LSG. But the fact that De Kock had a silent two last seasons behind him and Nortje’s injury-proneness, it will be interesting to see how they turn up in the next season.

Overvalued

Matheesha Pathirana

The Sri Lankan pacer, after being retained by CSK ahead of IPL 2025 for a hefty sum of INR 13 crore, had a mediocre campaign with 13 wickets at an economy of 10.13. And with a cloud of injuries surrounding him, a usually loyal and patient CSK let him go from their radar.

But shockingly, LSG and KKR kept bidding for him before the Purple and Gold brigade finally signed him for a whopping INR 18 crore. A five-crore increment to go after an ordinary season, the Sri Lankan pacer will have immense pressure to deliver in the death overs at Eden Gardens, a ground famous for its short boundaries and high scores.

Liam Livingstone

After going unsold in the first round, Liam Livingstone came up yet again in the accelerated bidding phase. With SRH holding almost all its money close to its chest even after the halfway stage of the auction and with the England all-rounder yet to come again, it almost looked like a no-brainer where he would end up. The Orange Army outbid LSG to acquire the big-hitter’s services for IPL 2026 for a shocking sum of INR 13 crore.

After only a year of signing him for INR 8 crore, RCB released him after the all-rounder blew hot and cold in the season before scoring just 112 runs at a meagre average of 16.00 and a strike rate of 133.33. And with the ball too, he had just two wickets in five innings. But he also upgraded his pay cheque this year, going with an addition of five crores. Hope his form in the ILT20, The Hundred and Vitality Blast this year, where he averaged more than 40 and struck above 150 in each of them, will continue till the IPL next year, otherwise LSG are in for a no-return investment.

Rahul Chahar

With a total of 10 wickets from 10 games in the last two seasons with SRH and PBKS, Rahul Chahar will consider himself fortunate to receive a bid of INR 5.2 crore from CSK. The leg-spinner, who went wicketless in his only outing with SRH last year, was pursued with interest by the Yellow Army as well as the Punjab Kings, who were surprisingly muted for a major part of the auction proceedings. With Wanindu Hasaranga going to LSG and Ravi Bishnoi being signed by Rajasthan Royals, CSK added the Rajasthan leg-spinner to their ranks.

Unexpected

Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma

The duo stole the limelight with headline-grabbing signings, together enjoying a whopping 65.44% of CSK’s total purse. Both players are literally in their first season in domestic T20 cricket, with Prashant Veer grabbing eyeballs with his all-round performances in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-arm spinner has a tally of nine wickets in seven games at an economy of 6.76, while also scoring 112 runs at a strike rate of 169.69. The 20-year-old is viewed as a long-term replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, who was traded to RR before he auctions.

Meanwhile, Kartik has played just five matches for Rajasthan in the SMAT 2025-26 campaign, hitting 133 runs at an impressive strike rate of 160.24. In his very small career, he has earned the reputation of being a six-hitter and a bankable finisher for his state unit, hitting more sixes than boundaries in T20s. But it remains to be seen whether the wicketkeeper-batter will be able to take his form and touch from the domestic circuit to the next level.

Auqib Nabi

The pacer from Jammu and Kashmir finally had his day under the shining sun after years of being rejected by franchises in the IPL. With 15 wickets in seven games in SMAT 2025-26, Nabi’s economy of 7.41 and strike rate of 10.73, he has made the franchises sit back and take notice of his talent. Amid strong bidding from at least four teams, Nabi ended up with the Capitals for a sum of INR 8.4 crores.

Even after the trio was signed, franchises went big on uncapped domestic players with left-arm pacer Mangesh Yadav (INR 5.2 crore RCB), the wicketkeeping duo of Tejaswi Dahiya (3 CR KKR) and Mukul Choudhary (2.6 CR LSG) and Akshat Raghuvanshi (2.2 CR LSG) all ending up with handsome bids.

Akeal Hosein

Though a regular feature in other franchise leagues across the world, Akeal Hosein was truly considered an outsider with respect to the IPL. The left-arm spinner has featured in only one match for SRH in IPL 2023, picking up a solitary wicket. Still, CSK thought that the left-arm spinner would weave magic for them and went for him in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. The franchise signed him for INR 2crore, his base price, keeping in mind his efficiency in the powerplay overs as well.

Additionally, Australian top-order batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith, pacer Gerald Coetzee and spinner Maheesh Theekshana going unsold came as a surprise and shocked the global cricketing audience.