The mini-auction saw some eyebrows being raised over a few players not receiving a bid.
After the release and retention lists were rolled out a month ago, teams had started planning for the big day, which was the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi. However, that event has concluded, and each of the 10 franchises are all set with their arsenal of players for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). That being said, here are the top 5 unsold players in the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
It is important to understand that the bidding for any players takes place due to a simple phenomenon of demand and supply amongst teams – a wider angle of which is seen in the trade window in the lead-up to the auction. With that perspective in mind, some of the players would have to stay away from the tournament for a season due to being unsold.
The Australian opening batter is probably one of the most aggressive openers in the shortest format, and has shown that in the recent years. However, there was no franchise who bid for him at a base price of INR 2 Crore in the IPL auction.
Teams like the Delhi Capitals (DC), who needed an opener alongside KL Rahul were expected to go after the Australian. But that did not happen. In his debut season with DC, Fraser-McGurk played nine matches with a strike-rate of 234.04 in the season, which was humongous for an opener.
The left-handed opener from New Zealand has played three seasons with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but was released ahead of the 19th IPL edition. However, Devon Conway was expected to be picked by one of the franchises. But that did not happen.
His best season for CSK came in 2023, when he scored 672 runs in 16 innings at an average of 51.69 – comprising six fifties. In 2025, he could only register an average of 26 runs across six matches, which probably put his name up on the players to be released ahead of the season.
The mystery spinner was released by the Rajasthan Royals in November, along with his teammate Wanindu Hasaranga. Though a lot of teams were in need of a lead spinner, none of them raised their paddles for Maheesh Theekshana.
The right-arm spinner was able to register only 11 wickets for the Rajasthan Royals across as many matches last season. To add to that, his economy was almost nearing 10, which was not a promising sign for a spinner. That being said, Theekshana is one of the hottest commodities going around in T20 cricket, which did not reflect via any franchise in the IPL 2026 auction.
Jonny Bairstow was one of the prime targets for the Mumbai Indians (MI), or so was assumed to be. But the five-time IPL champions went ahead with Quinton de Kock, actually stealing him for a base price of INR 1 Crore. This left Bairstow as one player amongst the top 5 unsold players in the mini-auction.
Bairstow came into the 18th edition of the IPL as a replacement for MI, and only played two matches in the playoffs – delivering good results in both of them. However, franchises at the auction table had different choices, and did not go with the English wicketkeeper-batter – which raised quite a few eyebrows.
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The all-rounder from Rajasthan was fresh off a good knock against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). Though Rajasthan lost the match after a stupendous run-chase by Mumbai, Deepak Hooda’s contributions over the years in the shortest format cannot be put on the back burner.
His performances for the Chennai Super Kings were nothing close to consistent in the IPL 2025 season. Hooda scored 31 runs in seven matches with an average of 7.20, which is way below-par for a middle-order batter.
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