"He went to give trials for 2 or 3 franchises" - Aakash Chopra picks uncapped Indians to watch out for in IPL 2026 auction

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked a few uncapped Indians to watch out for at the IPL 2026 auction. He opined that Kartik Sharma could be one of the players in demand, highlighting that the Rajasthan batter has impressed in trials for a few IPL franchises.

The IPL 2026 auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. While the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have the maximum available purse of ₹64.30 crore, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have the least remaining purse of ₹2.75 crore.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener reckoned that franchises might show huge interest in Kartik Sharma at the IPL 2026 auction.

"The first one I am thinking about is Kartik Sharma. He went to give trials for two or three franchises, and he hit a lot of sixes there. He is on the radar of all of them. The number at which he bats and the way he hits sixes, he is brilliant. I feel he will get money, and should get as well. You get very few Indian batters at that number," Chopra said. (1:50)

Chopra reckoned that Punjab's Salil Arora could be another batter to attract handsome bids.

"If I move from Kartik, I am reminded of Salil Arora. He plays for Punjab, and he scored 125 runs off 45 balls against Jharkhand recently. Even if we leave aside that century, his strike rate and average in this year's Mushtaq Ali Trophy have been good," he observed.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player noted that Rajasthan's Ashok Sharma might find many takers and wondered why the express seamer was released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

"Then I am picking two fast bowlers. One is Ashok Sharma. In yesterday's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match, he clocked 150 kph. He is the fastest Indian in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was a part of the Rajasthan Royals for ₹30 lakh. I don't know why they let him go. You won't get him back for ₹30 lakh," Chopra elaborated.

Chopra opined that Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi might also be sought after at the mini auction.

"Then I am thinking about Auqib Nabi. He used to be called a days' bowler earlier, that he bowls at one spot, and picked up four wickets in four balls, and all of that in the Duleep Trophy, but look at his SMAT numbers this time. He has taken 15 wickets in seven matches," he reasoned.

Auqib Nabi has picked up 43 wickets at an economy rate of 7.74 in 34 T20s. He is more renowned for his exploits in first-class cricket, having accounted for 125 dismissals at an average of 19.98 in 36 games.

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"He gets the ball to reverse and has the ability to bowl in the death overs" - Aakash Chopra on Akash Madhwal ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Akash Madhwal (left) was released by RR ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned that Uttarakhand's Akash Madhwal might be another uncapped seamer to rake in the moolah at the IPL 2026 auction.

"There will be teams interested in Auqib Nabi, and the same is true for Akash Madhwal. He was again with RR. You released everyone. What are you doing? A quality player. He gets the ball to reverse and has the ability to bowl in the death overs. He has a little IPL experience as well," he said. (4:25)

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Uttar Pradesh's Prashant Veer and Madhya Pradesh's Shivam Shukla might be the uncapped spin-bowling all-rounders to draw interest at the auction.

"Then I was thinking about two all-rounders. Prashant Veer is a left-arm spinner who hits sixes while batting down the order. He has been doing well in UPT20 for two years. You won't get a lot of people with that skill set, even at the international level," Chopra observed.

"Then I go towards Shivam Shukla. He is an all-rounder who bowls off-spin. He comes from Madhya Pradesh. Once again, he plays well. He has already been a part of the KKR setup. I feel his name will come, he will get picked, and he will also demand some serious cash," he added.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra expressed hope that Manisankar Murasingh finds takers at the IPL 2026 auction. He highlighted that the veteran all-rounder single-handedly wins matches for Tripura.