IPL 2026 auction: Top 3 players that shockingly went unsold

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction took place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi and it was a blockbuster event with teams shelling out a massive amount of money to fill their remaining slots ahead of the next edition of the league.

Cameron Green became the highest-paid overseas player in IPL history, sold to KKR for over INR 25 crore. While, Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana was purchased at INR 18 crore, becoming the second most expensive player in this year’s auction. 

Chennai Super Kings shelled out 14.2 crore each for two youngsters in Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. While some of the big players fetched big bids, a few were shockingly unsold and that caught the attention of many. 

IPL 2026 auction: Top 3 players that shockingly went unsold

Jonny Bairstow 

Another player who went shockingly unsold in the IPL 2026 auction was England keeper-batter, Jonny Bairstow. The right-hander came in as a replacement for Will Jacks last year for the Mumbai Indians and played a great role, scoring runs at a quick pace. With his experience, he was expected to find bids but that wasn’t the case as he went unsold.

Devon Conway 

New Zealand batter Devon Conway also went unsold in the IPL 2026 auction and it came as a surprise to many. He played a massive role in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) winning the league in 2023 and with him being one of the premier batters, he was expected to be picked in the IPL 2026 auction. However, no one went in for him as he was unsold.

Mahesh Theekshana 

Mahesh Theekshana has been one of the proven performers in the IPL 2026 auction. He played a match-winning role for Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in the league. But didn’t find bidders in the IPL 2026 auction. This came as a surprise as he was expected to be picked with the team needing spinners.