3 players with ₹1.5 crore base price who are likely to go unsold at IPL 2026 auction

The IPL 2026 auction is all set to take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. Exactly 350 players have been shortlisted to go under the hammer in the mini-auction. The 10 franchises will battle it out to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, with 31 of the spots being reserved for overseas cricketers.

While 350 players have been shortlisted for the IPL 2026 auction, a total of 1,390 players had initially registered for the auction. In the final player list, 240 cricketers are from India, while 110 are overseas cricketers. The player pool features 224 uncapped Indians and 14 uncapped overseas names. Also, 16 capped Indian cricketers and 96 capped overseas players are part of the auction.

Players have registered their names in eight price brackets, with ₹2 crore being the highest and ₹30 lakh being the lowest. Nine players have listed their names in the ₹1.5 crore category. In this feature, we look at three players with a base price of ₹1.5 crore who might go unsold at the IPL 2026 auction.

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#1 Umesh Yadav (India)

Veteran Indian pacer Umesh Yadav has the experience of 148 IPL matches. The right-arm pacer has claimed 144 wickets in the T20 league at an average of 29.97 and an economy rate of 8.49. The 38-year-old has three four-fers to his credit in the IPL, with a best of 4-23.

While Yadav has a decent record in the T20 league, he seems like a bowler who is past his prime. The Vidarbha pacer went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction after setting a base price of ₹2 crore. There have been concerns over his form and fitness in the T20 format, which is among the main reasons why he did not find any takers at the previous auction.

For the IPL 2026 auction, Yadav has set a slightly lower base price of ₹1.5 crore. However, there are strong chances of him going unsold again. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the right-arm pacer has played four matches for Vidarbha and has claimed four wickets. He was hammered for 54 runs in four overs in the game against Mumbai and also failed to pick up a wicket.

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#2 Matthew Short (Australia)

Australia's aggressive batter Matthew Short featured in the white-ball series against India. He impressed with 74 off 78 in the second ODI in Adelaide, but was disappointing in the other matches. In the T20I series against the Men in Blue, Short registered a highest score of 26* from three innings. The 30-year-old is a talented batter, but hasn't converted his chances.

Short has played 21 T20I matches in which he has scored 382 runs at an average of 22.47 and a strike rate of 155.28, with just one 50-plus score to his name. Looking at his overall T20 career, Short has played 140 matches and has scored 3,431 runs at an average of 27.66 and a strike rate of 147.76, with the aid of two hundreds and 23 half-centuries.

The Australian batter played six matches for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2023, scoring 117 runs at a strike rate of 127.17, with a best of 36. Short went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction despite setting a base price of ₹75 lakh. The cricketer is unlikely to find takers at the upcoming auction as well.

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#3 Saqib Mahmood (England)

England pacer Saqib Mahmood is yet to feature in the IPL. A right-arm fast medium bowler, he has played 19 T20Is for England and has claimed 21 wickets at an average of 27.90 and an economy rate of 9.30. While he has a decent strike rate of 18 in T20Is, Mahmood has a tendency of being expensive, which is why he has been in and out of the T20I squad.

Representing the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred earlier this year, he claimed seven wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 10.15. Mahmood also played the second ODI against South Africa at Lord's in September and failed to make an impact, registering figures of 0-53. Given his lack of form, it would be a surprise if any of the IPL franchises bid for him at the auction.