by IPL 2026 mini auction recorded ₹639.15 crore total spending across all 10 franchises.
Chennai Super Kings spent ₹28.40 crore on just two uncapped Indian players.
This amount equals 32.5% of CSK’s total auction budget of ₹87.40 crore.
No other team spent more than ₹11.20 crore on uncapped Indians.
Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma each cost ₹14.20 crore. The previous record for an uncapped Indian player was ₹5.25 crore in IPL 2022.
The new record shows a 170.5% increase over the previous highest price.
Both players entered the auction at a ₹30 lakh base price and reached ₹14.20 crore final price.
Most Expensive Uncapped Indian Players in IPL 2026
CSK’s Big Bet on Uncapped Indian Players
CSK bought 6 total players at IPL 2026 mini auction. Two were uncapped Indians, three were capped Indians, and one was overseas.
Total spending on capped Indians = ₹15.80 crore for 3 players. Average price per capped Indian = ₹5.27 crore.
Total spending on uncapped Indians = ₹28.40 crore for 2 players. Average price per uncapped Indian = ₹14.20 crore.
CSK paid 169.5% more per uncapped player compared to capped players. League average price for uncapped Indians across all teams = ₹3.12 crore.
CSK’s uncapped player spending exceeded the league average by 355.1%. This makes them clear outliers in the uncapped player investment strategy.
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Prashant Veer – ₹14.20 Crore
Prashant Veer became the Most Expensive Uncapped Indian Players in IPL 2026 alongside Kartik Sharma at ₹14.20 crore auction price.
His price ranks 18th among all 182 players sold at IPL 2026 auction. This places him in top 9.9% of auction prices across all categories.
Three teams bid for Veer. Final bidding lasted 6 minutes 35 seconds between CSK and Mumbai Indians before CSK won.
Veer scored 478 runs at 47.80 average in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. He ranked 3rd in total runs and 2nd in batting average during that tournament.
His base price increased 4,633% from ₹30 lakh to ₹14.20 crore during auction bidding process.
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Kartik Sharma – ₹14.20 Crore
Kartik Sharma matched Prashant Veer’s ₹14.20 crore price, creating tied record for uncapped Indian players. Both share 18th rank in overall IPL 2026 auction pricing.
Four teams participated in Sharma’s bidding. CSK competed against Royal Challengers Bangalore in final stages and won at ₹14.20 crore.
Sharma took 23 wickets at 14.26 average in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. He ranked 1st in total wickets and maintained 7.18 economy rate.
CSK spending ₹14.20 crore twice for uncapped players is unique in IPL history. No franchise previously paid identical high prices for two uncapped Indians in same auction.
Why Uncapped Indian Players Are Getting Huge Bids?
- Budget flexibility: Uncapped Indians don’t consume overseas player slots limited to 4 per match.
- Impact player rule: Young Indians fit impact substitute role introduced in IPL 2023. 62% of impact player uses in IPL 2025 involved uncapped Indians.
- Retention value: Uncapped players can be retained at 20-30% discount in future auctions, providing long-term cost savings.
- Age advantage: Average age of top uncapped buys = 23.2 years. Provides 12-14 year potential career length.
- Domestic performance: Strong Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy numbers correlate with higher auction prices. Economy rate shows strongest correlation at -0.71 for bowlers.
Most Expensive Uncapped Indian Players – IPL 2026
The most expensive uncapped indian players in ipl 2026 list with complete rankings:
| Rank | Player | Team | Price | Role | Domestic Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prashant Veer | CSK | ₹14.20 Cr | Batter | 478 runs, 47.8 avg |
| 2 | Kartik Sharma | CSK | ₹14.20 Cr | Pace Bowler | 23 wkts, 7.2 econ |
| 3 | Rohit Kumar | MI | ₹4.60 Cr | Batter | 38.2 avg |
| 4 | Anuj Yadav | RCB | ₹3.80 Cr | Wicketkeeper | 41.5 avg |
| 5 | Vikram Singh | KKR | ₹3.50 Cr | Pace Bowler | 8.1 econ |
Price gap between rank 1-2 and rank 3 = ₹9.60 crore or 208.7% difference.
CSK’s Auction Strategy Explained
CSK had ₹87.40 crore total available before the IPL 2026 mini auction. They used 100% of the budget across all purchases.
Budget allocation: 38.8% to pre-retained players, 50.6% to auction purchases, 10.6% remaining buffer.
The most expensive uncapped indian players in ipl 2026 team (CSK) allocated 32.5% of the auction budget to the uncapped category. Other teams averaged 13.7% spending on uncapped Indians.
CSK bought 7 total uncapped Indians for the squad. Two cost ₹14.20 crore each, the remaining five averaged ₹2.20 crore each.
What does This mean for IPL 2026?
Total IPL 2026 auction spending on uncapped Indians = ₹87.40 crore. This represents 13.7% of the ₹639.15 crore total auction budget.
Previous IPL 2025 spending on uncapped Indians = ₹52.30 crore. Year-over-year increase = 67.1%.
The average uncapped Indian price increased from ₹1.85 crore (IPL 2025) to ₹3.12 crore (IPL 2026). Growth rate = 68.6%.
28 uncapped Indians sold across all teams. League average = 2.8 uncapped players per franchise at ₹3.12 crore average price.
Final Thoughts:
Key Numbers Summary:
- Two players tied as Most Expensive Uncapped Indian Players in IPL 2026 at ₹14.20 crore each, breaking the previous ₹5.25 crore record by 170.5%.
- CSK spent ₹28.40 crore on uncapped Indians, 153.6% more than the second-highest team spending of ₹11.20 crore.
- League-wide uncapped Indian prices increased 68.6% year-over-year from ₹1.85 crore to ₹3.12 crore average.
- CSK paid 355.1% above league average for uncapped players, creating the largest pricing gap in any player category during IPL 2026 auction.
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