As the location for the IPL 2026 mini-auction is being speculated, a few days back, The Times of India reported that the event might be held in Abu Dhabi. Even though an official announcement is still pending, the sources are quite confident that the auction will happen in the third week of December. However, they are not sure about the exact dates.

In case the Abu Dhabi location is confirmed, it would be the third time in a row that the IPL auction is held outside India, after Jeddah and Dubai carried out the last two auctions. Initially, the league had planned to hold the mini-auction in India but due to the short timeframe, the event is now expected to take place overseas.

Before​ the auction, each team will have to decide on their list of retained players by November 15 at the latest. Among the various scenarios initially discussed, the surprise mega-deal exchanging players between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is what people have been talking the most about. It is said that Sanju Samson is a player that Chennai really wants to have while Rajasthan, on the other hand, is understood to be asking for Ravindra Jadeja and some more commodities for the exchange.

Cricket fans all over are looking forward to the outcomes of the trade talks in the next few days. After the deal, a franchise will probably write a letter to the public revealing their new arrangement, therefore, IPL 2026 might be seeing a new face.