The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction will be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. This will be the third consecutive year that the bidding event of the coveted league is being hosted overseas. The 2024 auction in Dubai was the first-ever to take place outside India, followed by the two-day 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November 2024.
IPL Mini Auction: One-Day Auction Format, Retention Deadline on November 15
The upcoming edition will follow the mini-auction format, lasting a single day. Ahead of the auction, all ten franchises must submit their list of retained and released players from their 2025 squads by 3 pm IST on November 15, according to a report by ESPN.
Once the retention lists are submitted, the IPL governing council will share a registered pool of players for franchises to shortlist from. That list will then be trimmed down to the final auction pool.
IPL Trading Window Timelines and Restrictions
The player trading window, which opened soon after the conclusion of IPL 2025, will remain active until one week before the auction, according to the report. It will reopen post-auction and continue until one month before the 2026 season begins.
However, franchises are prohibited from trading players purchased during the 2026 auction.
Sanju Samson Set to Join CSK; Jadeja Likely to Captain RR
Reports suggest that Sanju Samson is poised to join CSK through the trade deal, which could be finalized after the official retention deadline. Samson, currently the captain of Rajasthan Royals, is expected to play a key role in CSK’s lineup for the upcoming season.
In return, Ravindra Jadeja, who started his IPL career with Rajasthan Royals in 2008, is set to rejoin the franchise after 17 years. He is also likely to be appointed RR’s new captain for IPL 2026.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians (MI) have completed two all-cash trades – aquiring India all-rounder Shardul Thakur from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 2 crore, and Sherfane Rutherford from Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 2.60 crore.
In a separate deal, LSG have bought Arjun Tendulkar from Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 30 lakh.
Tentative IPL 2026 Schedule
The tentative window for the 2026 IPL season has been set from March 15 to May 31, with final dates expected to be confirmed after the auction.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
The post IPL 2026 Auction Date And Venue Revealed, Bidding War To Be Held In Abu Dhabi On THIS Date appeared first on NewsX.
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