Cricket May 01, 2026

IPL auction 2026: Australia's Cameron Green becomes most expensive overseas player in tournament's history

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
IPL auction 2026: Australia's Cameron Green becomes most expensive overseas player in tournament's history

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has become the most expensive overseas player in IPL history after being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.77m (£2.09m) in the auction ahead of the 2026 season.

The 26-year-old, , is also the third-biggest purchase in the tournament overall after Indian duo Rishabh Pant (£2.54m) and Shreyas Iyer (£2.51m) joined Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings respectively ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Green - who eclipses fellow Australian Mitchell Starc as the priciest overseas IPL import - was at the centre of a bidding war, with Knight Riders beating off competition from Chennai Super Kings to land the player after Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals had made earlier offers.

Green will only be able to take $2.08m (INR 18 crore) of the fee due to a maximum salary cap imposed by the IPL on overseas players at mini-auctions, with the remainder used by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for player welfare.

The Australian has previously played in the IPL for Mumbai and Royal Challengers Bengaluru but missed the 2025 edition with a back injury.

Liam Livingstone earned the highest price among the five English players sold, heading to Sunrisers Hyderabad for £1.085m, while Ben Duckett is poised for an IPL debut after Delhi Capitals swooped for him in a deal worth around £167,000.

Tom Banton and Luke Wood were acquired by Gujarat Titans and Jordan Cox by RCB, but Jamie Smith, Jonny Bairstow and Gus Atkinson were among the English players to go unsold.

, with Jos Buttler (Gujarat), Will Jacks (Mumbai), Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals) and Brydon Carse (Sunrisers) all retained by their respective franchises.

Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell were also kept on by 2025 champions RCB and Jamie Overton by Chennai, while Sam Curran was traded from Chennai to Rajasthan.

Elsewhere at Tuesday's auction, Knight Riders forked out $1.97 million (£1.5m) for Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesa Pathirana.

The record for the most expensive uncapped Indian player was also broken as all-rounder Prashant Veer, 20, and wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma, 19, went to Chennai for $1.64m (£1.2m) each.

The 2026 IPL will run from March 26 to May 31.

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