Dale Steyn picks his top 5 desirable players for IPL 2026 Auction; includes two former RCB stars

Former South African pacer Dale Steyn picked his top five most desirable players for the upcoming IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16. The legendary seamer went with Australian all-rounder Cameron Green as his first choice.

The 26-year-old missed the last IPL season with injury but has been in red-hot T20I form since his return. Green will likely be among the most sought-after by franchises, given his bowling abilities.

Talking about the tall Aussie, Steyn said on Star Sports:

"He has the ability to bat and bowl, so an incredible all-rounder. The flexibility with his batting. If you want, you can open the batting with him or bat him at 3 or bring him later down the order, maybe 6. He has the ability to hit the ball out the ground, which is exactly what you want in players at the IPL. And then he can also open the bowling so all-round, he is just an absolute perfect player to have and a perfect fit into most teams."

Former South African teammate David Miller was Steyn's second most desirable player for the auction.

"He fits in perfectly at No. 5, sometimes even No. 4. He is a finisher of the game but also someone who can play the long innings. So if you do find yourself in trouble, two or three wickets down, he can hold the innings together and still capitalize at the back end. One of the most destructive players, and it's not just slogging, it's calculative hitting. He's just the perfect batter in T20s in the middle-order," said Steyn.

After three excellent seasons with the Gujarat Titans (GT), Miller struggled for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025, scoring only 153 runs at a strike rate of under 128 in 11 outings.

Steyn's third pick was former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana, saying:

"He's just such a unique bowler. Bowls a great slower ball and a great yorker, and can rush you with the bouncer. It takes batters a couple of deliveries to get used to him, which results in dot balls that are absolute gold dust in T20 cricket."

Pathirana played a vital role in CSK's latest title in 2023 but struggled for form in the 2025 season, picking up 13 wickets at an economy of over 10 in 12 matches.

Steyn went for a fourth overseas player, Liam Livingstone, as his next pick, after the England all-rounder was released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), following their title run in IPL 2025.

Dale Steyn picks former KKR star as the lone Indian player on his desirable list

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batting all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was Dale Steyn's final pick for the most desirable players at the IPL 2026 auction. After being bought at a whopping ₹23.75 crore at the 2025 auction, the southpaw struggled to live up to expectations.

He scored only 142 runs at an average of 20.28 and a strike rate of under 140 in 11 games in IPL 2025.

"He has shown what he is capable of. And he is a high-profile Indian not playing for the national team right now. But he has tons of experience, and when you have that, and you are an Indian player, the rest of the squad feeds off it. He will rally together all the other guys, which is always a good sign," said Steyn (via the aforementioned source).

Iyer has played only for KKR in his first IPL seasons since his debut in 2021. The left-hander helped the franchise win their third IPL title in a dominant 2024 season.