The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially confirmed all key details for the upcoming TATA IPL 2026 Player Auction, with the event now set to feature 350 players in total. The auction will be held on Tuesday, December 16, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, making it one of the biggest overseas IPL auction events conducted by the league.
According to the IPL media advisory, the auction will begin at 1:00 PM UAE time, which corresponds to 2:30 PM IST. Franchises will compete for 77 total slots, including 31 overseas positions, as they restructure their squads ahead of the 2026 season.
A total of 1,390 players registered for the auction originally, out of which the list has been trimmed to 350 — featuring 240 Indian and 110 overseas players. The pool includes 16 capped Indians, 96 capped overseas players, 224 uncapped Indian cricketers, and 14 uncapped overseas entrants.
The highest base price remains set at Rs 2 crore, with 40 players choosing to enter the auction at the top bracket.
The full auction will begin with capped categories and will move into accelerated rounds as teams attempt to fill their remaining slots.
