• Source:JND
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IPL 2026 Auction Date: The BCCI have announced that the IPL 2026 auction will take place on December 16 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The confirmation came after all 10 teams finalised their lists of retained and released players ahead of the mini auction on Saturday, November 15. 

This will be the third time that the IPL auction will be held outside India. The 2024 edition was the first time it took place overseas (in Dubai) before the two-day IPL 2025 mega auction held in Jeddah. The 2026 auction will be a single-day event. As confirmed by the BCCI, a total of 173 players have been retained, including 49 overseas players, leaving 77 slots open for the auction. All 10 teams will collectively carry a massive Rs 237.55 crore into the mini-auction, ensuring high-energy bidding and some dramatic purse battles.

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"The player retention window for the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season closed on November 15, 2025, with all 10 franchises confirming their retained players ahead of the auction," the BCCI said in a statement. Across teams, a total of 173 players have been retained, including 49 overseas players. A combined purse of ₹237.55 crore will be available at the auction for a total of 77 player slots. With each team allowed to have a maximum squad of 25 players, Punjab Kings have opted to retain 21 players, the most among the 10 franchises, while Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans have retained 20 players each."

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"Heading into the auction, Kolkata Knight Riders will have a purse of ₹64.3 crore, the largest among the group, to fill a maximum of 13 slots with six overseas spots available. Chennai Super Kings will have the second-biggest kitty of ₹43.4 crore to fill a maximum of nine available slots," the statement added.

As per the rules for the mini-auction, there will be no Right to Match (RTM) cards available for the franchises to buy back their released players. Mumbai Indians, who have retained 20 players, have just Rs 2.75 crore left and only one overseas slot available. 

Among the big releases (apart from the traded ones) were Punjab Kings parting ways with Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell, Kolkata Knight Riders dropping Andre Russell and Chennai Super Kings letting go of Matheesha Pathirana. On the other hand, the defending IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru released six players, Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Bhandage, Mohit Rathee and Swastik Chikara.

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