ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Australia allrounder Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player in Indian Premier League history when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.7 million at the 2026 auction held on Tuesday.
The fee for Green, who is playing in the Ashes test series against England, narrowly tops the previous record amount (in local Indian rupee) which Kolkata paid for his compatriot, Mitchell Starc, ahead of the 2024 edition.
It made Green the third costliest IPL player of all time, behind India internationals Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, ahead of his third season in the tournament. He previously played for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champion, before missing the 2025 season after back surgery.
Kolkata held the biggest remaining purse for the auction and also paid around $2 million for Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana, making him the second most expensive purchase of the 2026 event.
Next came both spinning allrounder Prashant Veer and wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma, who were both bought by Chennai Super Kings for around $1.5 million. They became the most expensive uncapped players signed in an IPL auction.
Some 359 shortlisted players — representing 10 overseas countries, plus India — went under the hammer in Abu Dhabi to fill up the IPL squads for the 2026 season that starts in March and runs through to May.
Players set their base price and the highest bidder wins. Rajasthan Royals and then Chennai battled with Kolkata for Green’s signature.
Other headline overseas signings included South Africa’s David Miller and England’s Ben Duckett for Delhi Capitals, West Indies’ Jason Holder for Gujarat Titans and South Africa's Quinton de Kock for Mumbai.
Kolkata also bought Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman and New Zealanders Finn Allen and Tim Seifert.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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