IPL 2026 auction: Cameron Green to get Rs 18 crore despite KKR's Rs 25.2 Cr bid
New Delhi, Dec 16 : Though Cameron became the most expensive overseas buy in the Indian Premier League history after fetching a staggering Rs 25.20 crore bid from three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Australian all-rounder will only take home Rs 18 crore, in accordance with the new "maximum fee" rule.
The rule was introduced last year to address the shared concern of franchises that some overseas players were registering solely at mini auctions to exploit the supply-demand imbalance.
According to the rule, the overseas player cannot be paid more than Rs 18 crore, which was the highest bracket for franchises retaining players ahead of the 2025 mega auction. If the bid exceeded the Rs 18-crore threshold, the additional money would be used by the BCCI for player welfare.
In a note to franchises last year, the IPL said, "Any overseas player's auction fee at small auction will be lower than the highest retention price of Rs 18 crore and the highest auction price at the big auction. In case the highest auction price at the big auction is Rs 20 crore, then Rs 18 crore will be the cap. If the highest auction price at big auction is Rs 16 crore, then the cap will be Rs 16 crore."
Registered as a batter due to an oversight by his manager during the player auction registration, Green surpassed the previous record set by his Australia teammate Mitchell Starc, whom KKR bought for Rs 24.75 crore in IPL 2024 auction.
Overall, he became the third most expensive player in the history of the IPL auction after Rishabh Pant (Rs 27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2025 mega auction) and Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction).
Green made his IPL debut in the 2023 season after the Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him for Rs 17.5 crore. Notably, at the time, he became the second-most-expensive overseas player in IPL auction history, and the most expensive Australian player.
Most recently, he played in IPL 2024 for RCB after being traded in from MI. In 12 innings, he scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25 and took 10 wickets in 13 matches with the ball at an economy rate of 8.61.