CHENNAI: Indian Premier League. Over the years, when it comes to the IPL auction overseas all-rounders and pacers used to be the ones franchises break bank on. Not anymore. On Tuesday, true to it's name Indian, uncapped domestic players, had a life-changing pay day at the mini auction in Abu Dhabi.
Australian all-rounder Cam Green still was the highest-paid player at `25.2 crore, but of the 77 players signed at the auction, 35 of them were uncapped Indians. As many as 29 were overseas signings. Only 11 were India internationals.
Prashant Veer, 19-year-old all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh, went for `14.2 crore to Chennai Super Kings and so did 20-year-old Rajasthan keeper Kartik Sharma — highest for uncapped players in IPL history. Veteran J&K pacer Aquib Nabi (`8.4 cr to Delhi Capitals), Madhya Pradesh left-arm pacer Mangesh Yadav (`5.2 cr to Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Delhi-based Tejasvi Dahiya (`3 cr to Kolkata Knight Riders), Mukul Choudhary (`2.6 cr), Akshat Raghuwanshi (`2.2 cr), Salil Arora (`1.1 cr), and Naman Tiwari (`1 cr) were the eight other uncapped players who went for more than a crore.
For KKR, it was about getting keeper-batter in Dahiya, an experienced Prashant Solanki and young pacer Kartik Tyagi. Head coach Abhishek Nayar said that the value at which the players were bought reflects strongly on the quality of cricket played. "And more than that, the faith that the franchises are showing in Indian players knowing that they can make a difference even though it's their first year," Nayar said when asked about uncapped players getting a pay day. "I think to a large extent, it just tells you how strong domestic cricket is and tells you what a great job the IPL and BCCI are doing in making sure that through the SMAT and the local leagues, players are getting the exposure they require."
Meanwhile, CSK, who stuck to experienced campaigners over the years, took a significant shift in their approach midway through a forgettable 2025 season. In this auction, they spent `29 of the `43.4 crore (66.8 per cent) they had on three uncapped players — Veer, Sharma and Aman Khan (`40L). "As the game evolved, we might have been a little bit slow to evolve with it," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said. "Sometimes you can hang on to theories and philosophies because of past success, but we identified that we needed to shift. Whenever you can get a strong core of local players, I think your team's in good shape. And sometimes you have to invest time in that, and also money. Because what is happening is the scouting on numerous tournaments around India is becoming very important. So players are being watched and being studied and being bought with a view to performing the way they're performing now, but also another eye on the future. The fact it can be life-changing is a really rewarding aspect for doing something that they love. But first and foremost, they are bought for their skills," the New Zealander, who went on to call the young talents. "T20 babies", explained why price-tag becomes secondary.
"I just think it's a byproduct of T20 being around for some time now. And we're all learning, being involved with it some time. And the faster it gets, these young players seem to play it better," he added.
DC co-owner Parth Jindal said, "The IPL is where young players coming through domestic cricket make a name for themselves and then go on to play for India. What may be unknown entities for the general public are actually very well-known to all 10 franchises. Everyone is gunning for talent they believe will be the next big thing, and I’m sure some of them will break out over the next one or two years and even make their debuts for Team India."
Meanwhile, DC head coach Hemang Badani noted that with the salary cap expanding every year, teams are bound to spend money and sign a young player with no baggage. To drive home his point, in 2024 mini auction when Sameer Rizvi went for `8.4 crore (highest on that day), the purse was `100 crore. Today, it is `125 crore to sign the same number of players (25).
Though the franchises and coaches reiterate that there is no price-tag pressure, if one go by past trends, players tend to feel the heat when things don't go well. Rizvi felt that in 2024 before being signed by DC for 95 lakh. Venkatesh Iyer went from `23.75 crore to `7 crore in the last 12 months. By the time the 2026 season comes along, it will be interesting to see whether the Sharmas and Veers to grab the limelight and make it their own.