Mumbai: With the Indian Premier League introducing a stricter rule for overseas players barring them from entering the following mini auction if they skipped the mega auction, only a limited set of international stars are available for Tuesday’s auction at Abu Dhabi.
The IPL introduced the rule to curb manipulation by overseas players i.e. getting a bigger purse at the mini auction because of the limited pool of players in the fray.
As a consequence, at this mini auction there will be a lot of money in the room but not enough quality names to buy for the owners.
It is a case of having demand, but not enough supply and that is why Cameron Green is being seen by many as the pick of the event.
It means, players with the right skill sets will be in high demand. Hence on Tuesday at Abu Dhabi, a bonanza awaits for players seen as match-winners.
The ones who fall in that category are the strike bowlers, the unorthodox spinners, attacking top-order batters and finishers.
Most of the overseas players available – Green, Liam Livingstone, Jason Holder, Michael Bracewell, Mustafizur Rahman, Quinton de Kock, Pathum Nissanka, Jamie Smith, Jonny Bairstow, Matheesha Pathirana, Matt Henry, Lungi Ngidi, Alzarri Joseph, Taskin Ahmed and Spencer Johnson, won’t normally make the marquee list at an IPL auction, but in the current scenario, they have a good chance of franchises getting into bidding wars over them.
Among the Indian players Venkatesh Iyer, Prithivi Shaw, Ravi Bishnoi and Sarfaraz Khan are established names. IPL sides are looking for impact players and only Shaw falls in that category. The opening batter is a pure match-winner if he gets going. But his disciplinary record casts a shadow on his profile. The bidding on him will also depend on the team managements’ being convinced that he can maintain the focus he has shown for Maharashtra this season in the IPL too.
Iyer had a below-par 2025 IPL but is a proven performer in the T20 tournament, hence will be in demand. Sarfaraz has yet to fire in the IPL but he has sent a timely reminder in the SMAT. After a hundred against Assam in the League stage, he got a 25-ball 64 against Haryana in the Super Four on Sunday.
Good spinners with the ability to hit big don’t come dime a dozen, hence they are always in demand in the IPL. Again, it is a question of supply, which should help Bishnoi in attracting a bidding war. Rahul Chahar, an experienced IPL player, is also in the auction after being released by Sunrisers Hyderabad. When with Mumbai Indians, Chahar had a couple of good seasons.
For pace bowlers, it’s not just about speed or swing, it’s about the ability to take wickets. Jammu & Kashmir all-rounder Auqib Nabi and Rajasthan fast bowler Ashok Sharma are fancied by franchise scouts and coaches on their current form. Nabi is a swing bowler while Sharma is express pace.
Nabi picked up 15 wickets in seven matches at the SMAT at an economy rate of 7.41. In the Ranji Trophy, he is the second highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets in 11 innings.
Sharma has everything one looks for a pace bowler, athleticism, good action, pace and is in good form. Sprinting in, he consistently clocks 140kph plus and is the leading wicket-taker in SMAT with 20.
The franchises are always scouting for spin talent among the local T20 tournaments and coaching camps. Vignesh Puthur from Kerala was a find last year, doing well on debut for Mumbai Indians. In this auction, Yash Raj Punja, Prashant Veer and Krains Fuletra’s names are in the spotlight. Punja is a 19-year-old leg-spinner from Karnataka, seen as a bowler in the Anil Kumble mould.
The impact players rule has affected the role of all-rounders. Teams prefer specialists, but all-rounders who are big hitters or strike bowlers are very much in high demand. Twenty-year-old left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Prashant Veer’s exploits have caught attention. In the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, apart from nine wickets at an ER of 6.76, the Uttar Pradesh player scored 112 runs at a strike rate of 169.69.
Mumbai’s Sairaj Patil is also fancied by franchise scouts, called for trials by multiple franchises. A big-hitter in the Shivam Dube mould, he is a crafty pace bowler with a knack of picking wickets. Like Dube, he has used the T20 Mumbai league to catch attention. He smashed a chart-topping 16 in six innings in the 2025 T20 Mumbai league in which was named the Player of the Tournament. Despite limited opportunities in a star-studded Mumbai side, his exploits in the SMAT have been noteworthy. He is Mumbai’s highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets (best 3/33). In the first opportunity with the bat, versus Assam, he blasted 25 not out off 9 balls at a SR 277.77.
As it generally happens at a mini auction, out of around 200 crores total available, the bulk of the money will be used for the top 15-16 picks and that can make things truly interesting.
