The IPL 2026 Auction in Abu Dhabi imposes an INR 18 crore salary cap for overseas players. Any bid above this goes to the BCCI Welfare Fund, but the full amount is deducted from the franchise’s purse, complicating strategies for 77 available slots.
The IPL 2026 Auction will get underway in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. The event will be a mini-auction, as all 10 franchises aim to strengthen specific areas of their squads rather than rebuild from scratch. After retaining a chunk of their core players, the franchises will head into the auction with varying purse sizes and a clear emphasis on value picks.
A total of 369 players, including 19 late additions, will go under the hammer for 77 available slots, 31 of which are reserved for overseas players. The franchises have a combined purse of INR 237.55 crore to fill the remaining slots, with Kolkata Knight Riders having the highest purse of INR 64.30 crore, followed by the Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, who have a purse of INR 43.4 crore and 22.95 crore, respectively.
The upcoming edition of the IPL Auction is expected to be closely contested, given the limited number of slots available, as all 10 franchises compete for a limited pool of players to fill key vacancies.
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Overseas Players’ Salary Cap Rule Makes It Tricky for Franchises
As the IPL 2026 Auction approaches, all 10 franchises will have to operate under the strict salary cap rule for overseas players. The new twist to the IPL rule came into effect for the upcoming auction, impacting overseas players' contracts. The new rule states that the overseas players cannot earn more than INR 18 crore, even if the bidding for them crosses that amount during the auction.
The overseas players’ salary cap will be calculated by the highest retention slab and the highest winning bid from the previous mega auction. The highest retention slab ahead of the mini-auction is 18 crore, while the highest winning bid in the last mega auction was the INR 27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants for their skipper Rishabh Pant.
As the lower of the two figures applies, the maximum amount an overseas player can earn in the IPL 2026 Auction is INR 18 crore, which corresponds to the top retention bracket for the 2026 cycle.
Given the salary cap of INR 18 crore on the overseas players, the franchises will have to factor the rule while placing the bids, even if the bidding exceeds the capped amount. This leaves the franchise in a tricky situation where they have to balance aggressive bidding with prudent budget management, as any amount above the cap will not be fully paid to the player but still deducted from the purse.
What if an Overseas Player’s Bid Exceeds Beyond Salary Cap?
The new rule by the IPL ahead of the 2026 auction has clarified that franchises will have to pay only INR 18 crore to an overseas player if they bid them beyond the salary cap. The question is, what will the franchise do with the extra amount spent on an overseas player, as it will be deducted from their total purse despite the player receiving only the capped salary?
If the bid goes beyond the salary cap for an overseas player, the remaining amount will be diverted to the BCCI’s Welfare Fund. For example, if the Kolkata Knight Riders won an overseas player’s bid for INR 21 crore, the player would still receive only INR 18 crore, while the remaining 3 crore would go to the BCCI’s Welfare Fund.
However, the 21 crore will still be deducted from the franchise’s purse rather than being reduced to the capped salary, meaning the team must carefully manage its remaining budget for other players.
In the IPL 2026 Auction, 41 players have been listed at the highest base price of 2 crore, out of which 39 are overseas players, making the competition for top overseas talent even more intense. The likes of Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, Rachin Ravindra, Matheesha Pathirana, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, and Jamie Smith are expected to trigger intense bidding wars with franchises carefully weighing their purse and the INR 18 crore salary cap while strategising their picks.
