According to former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, when the IPL 2026 mini-auction takes place, foreign players will be more sought for than Indian ones.
Finding Indian players will be challenging for clubs, according to Ashwin, who also said that fresh Indian players may be the key additions. He went on to say that overseas players are anticipated to be the expensive selections. Ashwin said that it is dangerous for any team to let go of a key Indian player.
While talking about potential big paydays, he sorted out two Australian all-rounders to get lucky in the IPL 2026 auction- Mitchel Owen and Cameron Green. He expects both players to attract big bids as overseas all-rounders.
Cameron Green missed the entire 2025 IPL because of a back operation and decided to concentrate on his recuperation rather than risk injury before the World Test Championship (WTC) final. On the other hand, Mitchell Owen joined Punjab Kings (PBKS) as a late replacement for Glenn Maxwell.
He estimated that for some players, the mini-auction will witness bidding of between Rs 25 and Rs 30 crore.
"You've got Mitchell Owen, who was a replacement player for three games for Punjab Kings. Then you've got someone like Cameron Green coming into the auction. They'll go at a big price because they are foreign all-rounders. The mini-auction will be a game of Rs 25-30 crore for all teams," Ashwin remarked on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin said that one of the well-known Indian players going up for auction might be Mayank Yadav, a bowler with the Lucknow Super Giants. LSG paid Rs 11 crore to retain Mayank, although he hasn't played much because of injuries.
Owen has amassed 127 runs from five innings in six T20Is, averaging 31.75 and hitting at a scorching pace of 184.05. He has also taken two wickets with the ball at an average of 23 and has a half-century in T20I cricket.
Cameron Green has scored 240 runs in six innings at a remarkable average of 60 and a strike rate of 173.91, marking a successful comeback to T20 internationals. He was selected Player of the Series against the West Indies and has scored three half-centuries in the format this year.
Green started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians (MI), where he amassed 452 runs at an average of 50.22 in 16 innings, including two fifties and a century, in his first season. Green did not get any fifties while playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but he did add 255 runs in 12 innings at an average of 31.87.
