Abu Dhabi [UAE], December 16 : Uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma was sold to five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping price of Rs 14.2 crore during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction here on Tuesday.
Sharma became the joint-most expensive uncapped Indian player in IPL history, alongside Prashant Veer, who was also sold to the CSK.
Prashant Veer, an all-rounder from UP, also got attention with a massive bidding war between Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, CSK, RR and SRH. It was the five-time champions CSK that persisted until the last and secured him for Rs 14.20 crores.
He has been a solid performer for UP in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), scoring 112 runs in six innings at an average of above 37 and a strike rate of above 170 and a best score of 40*. He also took nine wickets in seven matches at an average of around 18.
Mumbai Indians (MI) started the bidding war for Sharma at the base price of Rs 30 lakh. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) joined the fray as the price jumped to Rs 5 crore.
CSK then made a bid for Sharma, pushing up his price. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a last-gasp bid, before the five-time champions CSK bagged Sharma for an eye-catching price of Rs 14.20 crore.
Sharma, who is a rising wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan, has played 12 T20s and 11 innings, scoring 334 runs at an average of 30.36 and a strike rate of 162.92, with two fifties.
In the Ranji Trophy, Sharma has played five matches and six innings, scoring 331 runs at a superb average of 55.16, including two centuries.
Mukul Choudhary, who is also a wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan, was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for 2.6 crore. Tejasvi Dahiya, an attacking wicketkeeper-batter from the Delhi Premier League (DPL), was sold to KKR for Rs 3 crore.
Ashok Sharma, a Rajasthan pacer capable of touching the late 140s and 150s, was sold to the Gujarat Titans for Rs 90 lakh. Ashok is the leading wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year with 20 scalps at an average of above 14, two four-fers.
Vignesh Puthur was sold to the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 30 lakh. Puthur played for MI last year, picking six wickets in five matches at an average of above 18.
Rajasthan Royals acquired Sushant Mishra for Rs 90 lakh. Sushant was part of the same batch of India Under-19s as Ravi Bishnoi and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Meanwhile, all the uncapped batters, Gujarat's Aarya Desai, Delhi's Yash Dhull, Karnataka's Abhinav Manohar, Punjab's Anmolpreet Singh, Vidarbha's Atharva Taide and Goa's Abhinav Tejrana went unsold.
Amongst all-rounders, SRH bought Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Shivang for Rs 30 lakhs, his base price, while Vijay Shankar, Tanush Kotia, India's U19 WC star Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mahipal Lomror, Eden Apple Tom and Punjab's hard-hitter Sanvir Singh went unsold.
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