The thunder of Tata’s Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction 2026 is coming soon in 2026. The big event is the auction of players, where top teams will battle to have the best of the best.
The auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. There are ten teams to compete in the IPL. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions from last year. Here are key details to know about the upcoming IPL matches.
IPL 2026 Player Retentions
As per the latest update, the ten franchises have confirmed to retain their players ahead of IPL 2026 auction.
This means, a total of 173 players have been retained, including 49 overseas players across teams.
IPL 2026 Purse Details:
A combined purse of Rs 237.55 crore is available for auction for 77 player slots.
Tata IPL’s official statement said, “With each team allowed to have a maximum squad of 25 players, Punjab Kings have opted to retain 21 players, the most among the 10 franchises, while Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans have retained 20 players each.”
In terms of teams, Kolkata Knight Riders has the largest purse of Rs 64.3 crore compared to others, with a maximum of 13 slots with six overseas spots available to fill. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings has the second largest purse of Rs 43.4 crore to fill a maximum of nine available slots.
Here are the details of IPL 2026/ Squad Size/Salary Cap/Available Slots:
| Franchise | No of Players | No of Overseas Players | Total money spent (Rs.) | Salary cap available (Rs.) | Available Slots | Overseas Slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSK | 16 | 4 | 81.6 | 43.4 | 9 | 4 |
| DC | 17 | 3 | 103.2 | 21.8 | 8 | 5 |
| GT | 20 | 4 | 112.1 | 12.9 | 5 | 4 |
| KKR | 12 | 2 | 60.7 | 64.3 | 13 | 6 |
| LSG | 19 | 4 | 102.05 | 22.95 | 6 | 4 |
| MI | 20 | 7 | 122.25 | 2.75 | 5 | 1 |
| PBKS | 21 | 6 | 113.5 | 11.5 | 4 | 2 |
| RCB | 17 | 6 | 108.6 | 16.4 | 8 | 2 |
| RR | 16 | 7 | 108.95 | 16.05 | 9 | 1 |
| SRH | 15 | 6 | 99.5 | 25.5 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 173 | 49 | 1012.45 | 237.55 | 77 | 31 |
IPL 2026 Auction:
The auction for IPL 2026 will take place on December 16, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
IPL 2026 Timetable:
The tentative date for the IPL 2026 is said to March 22, 2026. The season will close on May 26, 2026.
IPL 2026 Ticket Prices:
The tickets for IPL can be booked both offline or online.
Currently, the starting price for IPL 2026 tickets are expected to be Rs 450 to Rs 850. While mid-range tickets could be priced at Rs 900 to Rs 3,000. For premium seats, the ticket prices may range from Rs 4,000 to Rs 18,000. Lastly, for VIP tickets, the price could vary from Rs 19,000 and above.
It needs to be noted that these are tentative ticket prices and could change once the official launch of the IPL booking window.
In the past few IPLs, tickets could be booked through BookMyShow, District Zomato or other portals like Paytm.
Also, IPL 2026 tickets will attract a 40% goods and services tax (GST) rate after the new restructure of GST in September 2025. As per ESPN Cricinfo, the final price of a ticket whose base price is INR 1000 will now go up from INR 1280 to INR 1400. This increase puts the IPL in India’s highest GST bracket, alongside casinos, race clubs, or any place that has casinos or race clubs.
The 2026 Indian Premier League (also known as IPL 19 and branded as TATA IPL 2026) will be the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League. The tournament will feature ten teams competing in 84 matches from March to May 2026. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions, as per Wikipedia.