20 Aussies eyeing mega prize at mini IPL Auction

Cameron Green is set to headline the 20 Australians that will go under the hammer at next week's Indian Premier League auction.

This year's event, where the 10 franchises will finalise their squads for the 2026 edition of the T20 competition, will take place in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.

The auction list released by the BCCI on Tuesday bears a total of 350 names – 240 Indian players and 110 from overseas – that were shortlisted from the 1390 who had registered their interest.

Despite it being a mini auction, there will be plenty of business to be done for the franchises on the day with 77 vacant slots to be filled, of which a maximum of 30 can go to overseas players.

Kolkata Knight Riders will be the busiest of the sides after letting go of more than half the players they had on their roster last season. The three-time champions also have the biggest salary cap available with INR 64.3 crore (A$10.9 million) in the kitty.

But the Ricky Ponting-coached Punjab Kings have shown faith in the core group that took them to the 2025 final and have only four spots to fill.

Teams can have up to 25 players on their roster at the end of the auction, no more than eight of which can be overseas players.

A total of INR 237.55 crore (A$40.3m) can be spent in the auction room across the day. Fit-again Cameron Green, who has set his base price at the highest point – INR 2 crore (A$339,000) – is a contender to claim a big slice of that.

But the allrounder's hopes of bettering the whopping A$3.15 million (INR 17.5 crore) he was sold to the Mumbai Indians for in 2023 have been hit by a new rule imposing a salary cap of INR 18 crore (A$3.05m) for overseas players.

If the winning bid for a non-Indian player exceeds that figure, the successful franchise will have to pay the excess amount towards the BCCI's player development program.

Interestingly, Green has listed himself as a batter and not an allrounder, which has him in the first set of players to be auctioned featuring exclusively internationally-capped batters.

Green is joined in that set by Melbourne Renegades big-hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk.

The 23-year-old has also opted to go with the highest base price after being released by Delhi Capitals, who had brought him for A$1.65m (INR 9 crore) in 2025.

Fraser-McGurk had an impactful debut stint in the IPL in 2024, where he hit four fifties from nine games after being called in as a replacement player by Ponting, who was then at the helm of the Capitals. However, he couldn't replicate those feats the following season, scoring just 55 runs in six innings before being eventually dropped from the XI.

Veteran Steve Smith will, however, have to wait for his chance as he finds himself in the second set of capped batters.

Smith last played in the IPL in 2021 and has gone unsold in the last two auctions. But the former all-format Australian captain has since readjusted his priorities in favour of the shortest format – retiring from one-day cricket and declaring his ambition to play at the 2028 Olympics

He starred in USA's Major League Cricket in 2024, scoring 336 runs from nine innings at an impressive strike rate of 149. The 36-year-old also turned out for the Welsh Fire in the Hundred this year.

Rising star Cooper Connolly, who has now represented Australia in all three formats, could be in line to earn a maiden IPL deal.

The 22-year-old allrounder has displayed the ability to shine in big moments in the Big Bash and had a productive BBL|14 season with the bat for the Perth Scorchers, while his pacy 61 not out in the second ODI against India in October will also be fresh in the memories of those in the auction room.

Connolly's Scorchers and WA teammate Jhye Richardson, who recently returned to bowling following shoulder surgery, is also eyeing a return to the Indian league after last playing a solitary game in 2024.

The express quick is getting back to full speed and was a standout for Australia A with 4-35 in the first innings of their thumping win over England Lions last weekend.

Spencer Johnson, who was been out of action since sustaining a back injury during the last IPL, also features on the list with a base price of INR 1.5 crore (A$250,000).

Johnson was recently ruled out of the entire BBL|15 for the Heat as he continues his recovery from back stress fractures.

Fellow left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff is also in the mix and could be on a few sides' radar after finishing as the leading wicket-taker in BBL|14.

His new status as a T20 specialist, having retired from state cricket and moving to Melbourne Renegades this summer, could also prove favourable.

"I'd love to go back. I have had really fun memories of playing cricket in India," Behrendorff said in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"I have been really fortunate to play for some of the big franchises in that competition too. I have always been well looked after whenever I have been there.

"I love playing against and with the best players in the world."

Behrendorff previous stint in the IPL ended in unfortunate circumstances before it even started. The quick was injured after being hit on the leg while batting in the nets at the WACA Ground and was ruled out of the Mumbai Indians' 2024 campaign.

"I'll stay out of the nets and not break my leg and hopefully I (can) go back," he joked, referencing that freak accident.

But one of the most popular Aussie names in the IPL will not be part of the proceedings after it was announced earlier this month that Glenn Maxwell had opted out of the auction after being released by Punjab Kings.

Maxwell has always been one of the most sought-after players in IPL auctions, but his returns have dwindled over the past few seasons.

Australians in IPL 2026 Auction: Cameron Green, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Steve Smith, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Daniel Sams, Matthew Short, Josh Inglis, Ben McDermott, Cooper Connolly, Will Sutherland, Beau Webster, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Wes Agar, Billy Stanlake, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jack Edwards