 "Why Cameron Green can’t take home more than Rs 18 crore from IPL 2026 Auction even if he fetches record bid")
Cameron Green is expected to end up among the top buys in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction later this month. However, despite the likelihood of Green triggering a bidding war among franchises on 16 December in Abu Dhabi and potentially securing the highest bid in IPL history, the Australian all-rounder will not be paid more than Rs 18 crore.
IPL mini auctions tend to witness record sums being paid to secure some of the biggest names in the sport from across the world, due to the fact that franchises generally retain a large chunk of their squad and buy fewer players compared to mega auctions. And going by the trend in past mini auctions, it’s usually overseas players who command the highest salaries.
The 2024 auction in Dubai, after all, had witnessed Australia captain Pat Cummins briefly become the first player in the league’s history to breach the Rs 20 crore-mark, with Sunrisers Hyderabad acquiring him for Rs 20.5 crore. The record, however, would be broken by Australia teammate Mitchell Starc minutes later in the same auction with the pacer being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore.
Spotlight on Green ahead of mini auction in Abu Dhabi
Green, who had opted out of last year’s mega auction in Jeddah due to a back injury after getting released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is among the leading names ahead of the upcoming mini auction and is viewed as a strong favourite to fetch the top bid. Especially since compatriot and veteran all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has opted against entering his name for the upcoming auction after getting released by the Punjab Kings.
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It’s also worth noting that Green was the second-most expensive buy in the IPL 2023 auction, with Mumbai Indians shelling out Rs 17.5 crore to secure his services, and he is expected to command a higher price this time around. After all, KKR and Chennai Super Kings will be entering the auction with purses worth Rs 64.3 crore and Rs 43.4 crore, respectively, and might break the bank to secure the seam-bowling all-rounder who is also an explosive middle-order batter.
However, even if Green secures a bid that breaks the all-time record – which currently belongs to Rishabh Pant, who had been acquired by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore in last year’s mega auction – he will not be pocketing the full amount.
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That is due to a rule that the IPL Governing Council had introduced recently, which capped the salary of overseas players at Rs 18 crore or the “highest auction price at the big auction”.
The rule had been introduced by the IPL shortly after a meeting between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and franchise representatives in Mumbai last year. The franchises had previously complained that some overseas players took advantage of the supply-demand imbalance in mini auctions to fetch record bids.
As per the new rule, the bidding for an overseas player will go on as normal in the mini auction, but the player will not earn more than Rs 18 crore from the final bid, with the excess money going to the BCCI. And there’s no guarantee that Green will be pocketing Rs 18 crore either.
After all, Rs 18 crore is the highest slab at which a player can be retained by a franchise ahead of a mega auction. And the IPL’s salary rule for overseas players states that an overseas player’s final salary will either be Rs 18 crore or the highest successful bid in the previous mega auction, whichever is lower.
“Any overseas player’s auction fee at small auction will be lower than the highest retention price (of INR 18 crore) and the highest auction price at the big auction. In case the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 20 crore, then INR 18 crore will be the cap. If the highest auction price at big auction is INR 16 crore, then the cap will be INR 16 crore,” read the IPL’s rule on the salary cap for overseas players.
“The incremental amount over INR 16 or 18 crore, as the case may be, will be deposited with BCCI. The incremental amount deposited with BCCI will be utilised towards players’ welfare,” it added.
Since Pant had gone to LSG for Rs 27 crore in last year’s mega auction, Green will be earning Rs 18 crore from the upcoming mini auction regardless of the final bid amount.
Indian players to get full amount
The rule, however, does not apply to an Indian cricketer, who will be pocketing the full amount from the winning bid at the auction. It’s also worth noting that an overseas player will be eligible to participate in a mini auction only if he has registered his name in the most recent mega auction, unless he backed out due to injury.
A total of 77 slots are available to be filled across franchises in the upcoming IPL mini auction, including 31 for overseas players. A total of 45 players, meanwhile, have registered in the highest price bracket of Rs 2 crore.
Catch all the action from the TATA IPL 2026 mini-auction, December 16, 2:30 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network
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