KKR sign Cameron Green for an IPL record of INR 25.20 crore

Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas signing in Indian Premier League history on Tuesday (December 16) with Kolkata Knight Riders forking out a staggering INR 25.20 crore for the all-rounder at the IPL 2026 auction. KKR's signing amount surpassed the previous IPL record for an overseas pick - of INR 24.75 crore for Mitchell Starc in IPL 2024 auction, also held by KKR.

Green is now the third Australian to fetch a fee in excess of INR 20 crore - after Starc and Pat Cummins (INR 20.5 crore) did it in 2024. However, Green will earn the capped salary of INR 18 crore - with the remainder (INR 7.20 Crore in his case) going to the BCCI as per the guidelines issued last year. Green has scored 707 runs in 29 IPL matches before - for MI and RCB, in the last two seasons at a strike-rate of 153.69.

KKR and RCB did a 2025 encore to fight it out for Venkatesh Iyer. The defending champions edged out KKR to prise away the all-rounder for INR 7 crore, who will now play under his Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar. This comes a year after he had fetched INR 23.75 crore.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana sparked the next big bidding tussle as DC and LSG showed gumption to go far. But just as DC exited the race, KKR joined in - at INR 16 crore. They went on to nudge LSG out for their second big signing of the day - picking Pathirana for INR 18 crore. LSG moved on quickly from that miss to bag South Africa speedster Anrich Nortje for his base price of INR 2 crore.

Rajasthan Royals' spin revamp continued, after they'd brought in Ravindra Jadeja in the trade window. They outmuscled Chennai Super Kings in a long battle for Ravi Bishnoi, and overcame a late surge from Sunrisers Hyderabad to take the spinner for 7.20 crore.

CSK break the bank

Uttar Pradesh's Prashant Veer and Rajasthan's Kartik Sharma became the joint-most expensive uncapped picks in IPL Auction history - as CSK broke the bank for both in quick succession, paying a whopping 14.20 crore each. The previous highest in this category was held by LSG when they roped in Avesh Khan for 10 crore ahead of IPL 2022.

Veer, a 20-year-old left-arm spin all-rounder is a player in the mould of Ravindra Jadeja - scoring 320 runs and picking eight wickets in 10 UPT20 league matches. Karthik is a 19-year-old keeper-batter with a penchant for six-hitting. In 11 T20 innings, he has 334 runs at a head-turning strike rate of 162.92. SRH lost the race for both after going as far as 14 crore twice.

Rise of the uncapped keepers

Kartik wasn't the only Indian uncapped player with the dual role of donning the gloves and hitting big that had the teams' attention. Kartik's Rajasthan teammate - and fellow wicketkeeper-batter, Mukul Choudhary also went big. The 21-year-old, with a T20 strike rate of 157.57, was bagged by LSG for 2.60 crore. SRH found success in their pursuit for Punjab's 23-year-old Salil Arora, who has scored 359 runs in 9 T20 innings - including a century - at a strike rate of 197.25. They picked him up for 1.50 crore.

After missing out on Mukul, Rajasthan Royals attempted to get Delhi's Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, but fell short there too. KKR invested 3 crore to beat RR, securing his big-hitting skills that he has shown at this year's Delhi Premier League - scoring 339 runs at a strike rate of 190.45, a feat including 29 sixes which is the second-best tally for the season.

Need for (domestic) speed

SRH's search for a Mohammed Shami replacement turned them towards Auqib Nabi, but they were beaten to his signature by Delhi Capitals. The 29-year-old from J&K, with a lot of anticipation on the back of an incredible domestic season, ended up at Delhi Capitals for 8.40 crore.

LSG expended 1 crore of their budget for the UP sensation Naman Tiwari - a 20-year-old left-arm pacer known for hitting 140kmph regularly on the speed meter. He featured for India at the U19 World Cup in 2024 and picked 19 wickets in this year's UPT20 league.

GT opened their account for the evening by snapping up Ashok Sharma for 90 Lakh. Ashok, another Rajasthan represent, is the current leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a knack to bowl quick. RCB splurged 5.20 crore for a left-arm pace all-rounder in Mangesh Yadav - the 23-year-old from Madhya Pradesh. They beat SRH to land him.

More domestic buys

The overseas trend

Delhi Capitals stuck their necks - and money - out for Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka, who has been in good form lately. Nissanka and Ben Duckett - secured earlier for base price, gives DC two routes to take as far as an overseas opener is concerned. They fought off KKR to get Nissanka for 4 crore. KKR chose a similar path as they added Tim Seifert for 1.50 crore after having already picked Finn Allen for 2 crore.

Gujarat Titans meanwhile, outmuscled CSK for the in-form all-rounder Jason Holder, who has picked 88 wickets and has smashed 797 runs at a strike rate of 158.44 in T20s this year. KKR then spurned CSK's hopes of adding overseas fast bowling back-up by bringing back Mustafizur Rahman, as they took him away for 9.20 crore.

Cooper Connolly became Punjab Kings' first buy, as they added middle-order and overseas all-round depth with the Australian for 3 crore.

Second-chance saloon

Liam Livingstone's fate wasn't sealed after being overlooked in the first round. He was called again at the backend when a bidding war was sparked. SRH led it, and tussled KKR and GT first. LSG entered the fray at 4.20 crore and dragged SRH all the way to 13 crore, when LSG were out of money to make the next bid. After spending last season at the title-winners RCB, Livingstone gets a salary bump from 8.75 crore to 13. SRH also picked fast bowler Shivam Mavi for 75 lakh.

KKR then settled for Rachin Ravindra at base price of 2 crore and then roped in Akash Deep for 1 crore. Sarfaraz Khan too enjoyed a late lifeline through one bid from CSK (75 Lakh). CSK got busy as they added Matt Henry to their ranks (2 crore) after missing out on Mustafizur Rahman, and then went neck-to-neck with PBKS for Rahul Chahar. They bagged him for 5.20 crore.

Jake Fraser-McGurk, the first player to go under the hammer in this auction, came back for the second time and went unsold once more. Surprisingly, New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracwell was met with similar fate.

RCB got a bit of smart business done towards the end, when they roped in the fiery Jordan Cox for 75 lakh. The swashbuckling opening batter offers competition for the spot that currently belongs to Phil Salt, who was instrumental in their title-winning season. A late windfall also went Josh Inglis's way, as the Aussie keeper-bat earned a winning bid of 8.60 crore from LSG.

For Prithvi Shaw, third time was the charm. He went unsold twice, before DC took him for his base price of 75 lakh on the third turn.

Other notable buys