R Ashwin’s mock auction for IPL 2026 on his show “Winning Bid”, mirroring the upcoming mega sale at Abu Dhabi, gave us the view of huge picks, unpredictable successes and some very expensive players left unsold.
Concept and Format
Ashwin created a complete auction scenario with 10 fake teams, limited budgets, and a mix of Indian and international stars, just like in the real IPL in-house. Bidding patterns, retention balance and role-based targeting were all aired live to illustrate how teams might really think in the auction.
Biggest Buys
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was the most expensive player, “purchased” by Chennai for an incredible ₹21 crore, which further confirms the high demand for pace-bowling all-rounders. The same goes for Liam Livingstone to Kolkata for ₹18.5 crore and Venkatesh Iyer for KKR at ₹17.5 crore, which put batting all-rounders in the top bracket.
Notable Indian Picks
Ravi Bishnoi (₹10.5 crore to Hyderabad) and Prithvi Shaw (₹5.25 crore to Kolkata) were the most impressive Indian signings, who both caught the attention of the teams with their great performances during the bidding. Domestic players like Rahul Tripathi (₹75 lakh to Rajasthan) and Sarfaraz Khan (₹1.5 crore to Bengaluru) showed that even in the middle-range segment, the experienced Indian batters are still valued highly.
Key Overseas Signings
In addition to Green and Livingstone, CSK acquired Josh Inglis, Akeal Hosein and Akash Madhwal while Kolkata took Matt Henry, Ben Duckett and Ben Dwarshuis. All-rounders like Jason Holder (₹9 crore to Lucknow) and Gerald Coetzee (₹4 crore to Lucknow) added fast bowling depth in different franchises.
Major Unsold Names
In this mock, Steve Smith, Devon Conway and Sachin Baby, despite their standings, remained unsold, denoting the team’s fit worries as well as recency bias. Andre Russell stayed silent throughout the mock, indicating he was either viewed as retained or out, which is another realistic nuance that Ashwin added to the exercise.
What It Reveals
The entire list of sold-and-unsold from Ashwin’s mock auction demonstrates three trends: dramatically increased prices for all-rounders, tactical risks taken on uncapped Indian talent, and a merciless market for old or one-dimensional stars.
Shubhi is a seasoned content writer with 6 years of experience in digital media. Specializing in news, lifestyle, health, sports, space, optical illusions, and trending topics, she crafts engaging, SEO-friendly content that informs and captivates readers. Passionate about storytelling, Shubhi blends accuracy with creativity to deliver impactful articles across diverse domains.
