IPL 2026 auction: Cameron Green becomes most expensive overseas player ever, goes to KKR for Rs 25.20 crores

ABU DHABI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction was off to a fantastic start as Australian allrounder Cameron Green was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 25.20 crore, becoming the third-most expensive player in the league’s history and most expensive overseas player in the competition’s history at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Initially, it was Rajasthan Royals and KKR that entered an intense bidding war, with the Royals opting out at around Rs 13 crore and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which entered the bidding, taking the price way beyond Rs 20 crore. CSK bid Rs 25 crore, and KKR followed it with a 25.20 crore bid and won the war.

Green has scored 521 runs in 21 T20Is matches at an average of 32.56, SR of 160.30, with six fifties and has 12 wickets averaging 23.35. He has scored 1,334 runs in 63 T20S at an average of 33.35, SR of 151.07, with a century and seven fifties and taken 28 wickets averaging above 34.

Loved watching the bidding war at the IPL auction for Cam Green. Auctions are way more fun to watch than drafts.

Hoping the #NewEra of the PSL actually has something new.
(And isnt just a hashtag) pic.twitter.com/jlHyEUAAmm

— Ali Khan Tareen (@aliktareen) December 16, 2025

The young Aussie allrounder featured in the 2023 and 2024 IPL seasons with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), scoring 707 runs in 29 matches at an average of 41.58, with a strike rate of 153-plus, a century and two fifties and took 16 wickets at an average of above 41.5. But he did not participate in last season’s auction due to injury.

Also, South Africa’s veteran middle-order batter David Miller went to Delhi Capitals (DC) for his base price of Rs 2 crore. In South Africa, he has made 2,612 runs in 132 T20Is at an average of 33.06, with an SR above 140, including two centuries and eight fifties in 116 innings. 11,497 runs in 539 T20S at an average of 35.05, with an SR of over 138, with four centuries and 50 fifties.

The left-hander has scored 3,077 runs in 141 IPL matches for PBKS, RR, GT and LSG, at an average of 35.77 and a SR of over 138, with a century and 13 fifties. Last season with LSG, he was underwhelming, making just 153 runs in 11 innings at an average of 30.60, SR of over 127, with a best score of 27*.

Aussie dasher Jake Fraser McGurk, who represented Delhi Capitals (DC) for two seasons and had a poor last season with just 55 runs in six innings, went unsold. Also, New Zealand opener Devon Conway, a CSK mainstay for three seasons and an IPL winner with them in 2023, went unsold. Last season, he had a disappointing outing, scoring 169 runs in six innings at an average of 26.00, a SR of 131-plus, and two fifties.

Maharashtra batter Prithvi Shaw and Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan went unsold despite their domestic heroics. Shaw also went unsold last season but has had a decent run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) this year, scoring 183 runs in seven matches for Maharashtra at an average of 26.14, SR of 160-plus with two fifties. In the Ranji Trophy, he made 470 runs in five games at an average of 67.14, with a century and three fifties in seven innings and an SR of 92.33.

Also, Sarfaraz, who has scored 585 runs in 50 IPL matches for RCB, PBKS and DC with a fifty, looked in sublime touch in SMAT 2025/26, with 329 runs in seven matches at an average of 65.08, strike rate of over 203 with three fifties. (ANI)