Nearly 300 players returned empty handed from IPL auction

The journey of IPL 2026 auction has also been completed. The day for which not only the players and franchises, but also their fans were waiting for many days, has come and gone. A mini auction was organized in Abu Dhabi on 16 December, in which the fate of 369 players was decided and only 77 players got success. Players like Cameron Green, Matisha Patirana, Liam Livingston, and Prashant Veer-Karthik Sharma grabbed all the limelight, on whom money was showered like hell. But there were many big players for whom no bids were made. Even the names of many veterans did not come.

This happened on Tuesday auction Only 77 slots were to be filled and all of them were filled. In such a situation, it was natural that most of the players would be disappointed, in which some big names were also sure to be included. But everyone wanted to know who would be those stalwarts and well-known faces who would be ignored. Now this has also become clear and it includes stars like Steve Smith to Jonny Bairstow and Umesh Yadav.

From Umesh Yadav to Conway, veterans returned empty handed

India's legendary fast bowler Umesh Yadav, one of the most successful bowlers in IPL history, was released by Gujarat Titans. But this time he could not find any buyer. Umesh had kept his base price at Rs 1.50 crore. But even the name of Umesh, who has taken 144 wickets in IPL history, was not taken in the auction. At the same time, the name of Test and ODI cricket legend Steve Smith (base price Rs 2 crore) did not appear even once during the auction.

Similarly, England's effective shorter format batsman Jonny Bairstow also returned empty handed. Bairstow's base price was Rs 2 crore but no franchise bid when his name came up. Similarly, New Zealand opener Devon Conway (2 crore base price), who was a part of Chennai Super Kings, was in the list of marquee players, who was the first to be bid in the set. But no one showed interest in Conway either.

These players also did not find buyers

Apart from these, you can find names of some other big players here, who did not find any buyer-

1. Jake Fraser McGurk (Australia) – 2 crores
2. Gus Atkinson (England) – 2 crores
3. Viaan Mulder (South Africa) – 1 crore
4. Deepak Hooda (India) – 75 lakhs
5. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) – 1.5 crore
6. Jamie Smith (England) – 2 crores
7. Gerald Kotjia (South Africa) – 2 crores
8. Mahesh Teekshana (Sri Lanka) – 2 crores
9. Michael Bracewell (New Zealand) – 2 crores
10. Darryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – 2 crores
11. Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka) – 75 lakhs
12. Alzarri Joseph (West Indies) – 2 crores
13. Mayank Agarwal (India) – 75 lakhs
14. Abhinav Manohar (Uncapped) – 30 lakhs
15. Swastik Chikara (Uncapped) – 30 lakhs
16. Vijay Shankar (Uncapped) – 30 lakhs