De Kock makes a surprise return as BCCI prunes auction register to 350

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction will feature 350 players. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) arrived at this number after extensive consultations with the franchises. The auction will be held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16, commencing at 1 pm UAE time (2.30 PM IST).

Initially, the board had circulated a list of 1,355 players for franchises to review. The pruned final list includes 35 new names that were not part of the initial spreadsheet, with one surprise entry being Quinton de Kock.

The South African wicketkeeper-batter had not figured in the original list but was added later, evidently at the recommendation of a franchise. He is listed in the third lot for wicketkeeper/batters.

De Kock's (33) inclusion follows his recent return from international retirement, highlighted by a century in the third ODI against India in Visakhapatnam. His base price is INR 1 crore—a 50 percent drop from the previous mega auction, where the Kolkata Knight Riders picked him for INR 2 crore before releasing him after an underwhelming season.

Among other new players are a group of Sri Lankans: Traveen Mathew, Binura Fernando, Kusal Perera, and Dunith Wellalage.

According to the BCCI, the player auction will commence with a full round of capped players in order of specialism: batters, all-rounders, wicketkeeper/batters, fast bowlers, and spin bowlers. This will be followed by a full specialism round of uncapped players.

Cameron Green, expected to be in high demand, is in the first lot of batters (BA1). Others in that cluster are Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw, and David Miller. Venkatesh Iyer is in the second lot for all-rounders (AL1).

As in previous auctions, there will be an accelerated process. The BCCI plans to start it after Player No. 70 in the register, with Wahidullah Zadran of Afghanistan listed as the 70th player.

Notable Overseas Players: Quinton de Kock (South Africa), George Linde (South Africa), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka).

Notable Indian Players: Vishnu Solanki, Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw, Venkatesh Iyer.