IPL 2026’s mini-auction felt like a wake-up call for anyone clinging to big names. Reputation? It meant less than ever. Teams chased recent form and usefulness, not past glory.
You could see it in every wild overseas bid, but the real shock came when Devon Conway-base price Rs 2 crore, stellar numbers, and a proven IPL hitter-didn’t get picked. Meanwhile, uncapped Indian guys with a Rs 30 lakh base price rocketed into the big-money club.
Let’s talk about the Conway snub. The guy’s got over 1,080 IPL runs, averages 43.20, and strikes at nearly 140. On paper, he’s gold. But teams passed, and it wasn’t about talent. It was about fit. Most squads already had their four overseas spots locked, and those are precious. Teams aren’t spending them on openers when they can get reliable Indian ones for less. They want fast bowlers, all-rounders, or power hitters in those slots-roles that are tougher to fill with local players.
Conway also missed some games last season and his form dipped a bit. With auction budgets tight, no one wanted to risk Rs 2 crore on a guy who’s got question marks around recent fitness and impact.
It wasn’t just Conway. Guys like Jonny Bairstow and Jake Fraser-McGurk ran into the same wall. Unless you’re bringing something teams just can’t find elsewhere-like a game-changing quick or a world-class all-rounder-the money and the slots are going to cheaper, high-upside domestic options.
And wow, did the uncapped Indian players cash in. The biggest story? Chennai Super Kings dropped a record Rs 14.20 crore on Prashant Veer, a left-arm spin all-rounder. He started at Rs 30 lakh. It’s simple: Indian all-rounders who can bowl four good overs and hit with intent are rare. CSK needed that badly, and they paid up. Same story with Delhi Capitals and Auqib Nabi Dar, a pacer from Jammu & Kashmir. Rs 8.40 crore for a guy not many have seen on the national stage. Why? Because Indian pace is always in short supply, and he brings raw speed plus death-overs skills. No injury baggage, high upside-he’s exactly the type of profile teams fight over now.
Then there’s Rahul Tripathi, once a multi-crore regular. This time, KKR picked him up for just Rs 75 lakh. That’s a huge drop. Why? He’s a top-order hitter, and there are plenty of those. Plus, teams want consistency or a specialist-they’re done paying big just for flashes of brilliance.
So, what did this auction really show? Past achievements and big names mean less every year. Teams want players who fill very specific, hard-to-find roles-especially domestic ones who can do the job for years. That’s where the big bucks went, and it’s not changing anytime soon. The league’s future? It’s in these high-potential Indian specialists, not the old reputations.