New Delhi, Dec 15 Australia’s seam bowling all-rounder Cameron Green underlined his status as the most sought-after player ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, fetching Rs 30.5 crore from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a mock bidding exercise.
Registered as a batter, owing to a goof-up by his manager during the player auction registration, Green is expected to be hotly pursued by both KKR and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) when the real auction begins at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“I knew CSK would also go after a middle-order all-rounder. I thought they would go somewhere around 25–28 crore. Realistically, I think they would go up to around Rs 20 crore in the actual auction, because they would want to keep space for other Indian and overseas players as well.
“But in the mock auctions, I was ready to go up to 35 crore for a player like Green. I think Cameron Green should bat at No. 3 in the order,” said JioStar expert and former India player Robin Uthappa, who was the KKR representative in the mock auction held on Monday.
In the mock auction, Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana was picked by KKR for 13 crore. “It’s all about planning and keeping things simple. We needed a good death bowler. With the kind of coaching staff KKR have, Pathirana can be very effective at the death. He has been a little off colour recently and has gone back into the auction pool, which I think will make him more motivated to perform.
“A change of franchise can also help. With Pathirana, Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora, if you’re asking who bats in the first XI, it would be Vaibhav Arora. Also, Varun has been working on his batting, he’s not too far away from clearing the ropes either,” added Uthappa.
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina, who was CSK’s representative in the mock exercise, commented on picking Sarfaraz Khan for Rs 7 crore. “I think he is in great form. We saw earlier that when Venkatesh Iyer was bought for a big amount, the form wasn’t quite there. Sarfaraz, on the other hand, is batting really well right now. You don’t get that kind of player easily—the range of shots he plays, the confidence he has.
“The form Sarfaraz is in, even if he plays four or six matches and wins you two games, that 7 crore will be fully justified. After his first-class performances, he has also been included in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He is a form player, following a process. Chennai’s wicket is technically sound, and if he gets set in a system like CSK, where the focus is on winning games, I think CSK will benefit greatly from his form.”
On CSK’s overall auction strategy executed by him, Raina explained picking leg-spinners Rahul Chahar and Wanindu Hasaranga, as well as pacer Anrich Nortje. “I think we have addressed key areas in the auction war room. We picked Rahul Chahar as a leg-spinner and Wanindu Hasaranga because we don’t have Jadeja and Ashwin. We also strengthened our pace attack—Anrich Nortje is there, he has pace and can bowl yorkers consistently.
“It was important to bring in Sarfaraz Khan, who is in tremendous form. You’ll also see young players like Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube in the mix. There are a lot of young faces, and that’s very important. When new players came in previously, even after losing two or three matches, the youngsters responded really well.
“You need that fire—players who go out and express themselves fearlessly. In the main auction, many more players will be available. CSK may even look to buy Matheesha Pathirana again, given their concern around death bowling. That will be one of their key focus areas,” he concluded.
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