Green, Smith, and Indian Aspirants Top List for December 16 Event

ABU DHABI, UAE: A massive pool of 1,355 players has registered for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction, which is set to take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16. The one-day event will see 10 franchises vie to fill 77 vacant slots, including 31 for overseas players, with a collective purse of INR 237.55 crore available.

The list of aspirants is headlined by a host of prominent international and Indian names. Top Australian stars like Cameron Green, Steve Smith, and Matthew Short have registered, alongside England’s Jonny Bairstow and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra. Key Sri Lankan players Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana are also on the register.

Among the Indian contingent, prominent figures like Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Deepak Hooda, and Umesh Yadav are among the high-profile entries. Only two Indian players, Ravi Bishnoi and Venkatesh Iyer, have set their base price at the maximum bracket of INR 2 crore.

A total of 43 overseas players have registered at the maximum INR 2 crore reserve price, including Green, Smith, Anrich Nortje, Liam Livingstone, and Daryl Mitchell. Veteran Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has set his base price at INR 1 crore.

The players hail from 14 different countries, stretching from major cricketing nations to new entrants like the USA and Malaysia. The Kolkata Knight Riders hold the biggest purse for the auction at INR 64.30 crore, followed by the Chennai Super Kings with INR 43.40 crore.