Tuesday’s IPL auction will feature several Australians looking for new homes in next season’s competition
Some of the biggest names in Australian cricket have put their hands up for selection in this week’s IPL auction.
Whether it’s veteran champion Steve Smith, youngsters on the rise like Cooper Connolly and Cameron Green, or T20 specialists such as Jason Behrendorff, up to 20 players at different stages of their careers are in the running to feature in the nineteenth edition of the competition.
Smith and Connolly headline those who have set their base price at the highest level (at approximately $340,000).
The big-hitting Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sydney Sixers veteran Sean Abbott and Australia white-ball ‘keeper Josh Inglis are the others to enter with the maximum base price.
Fraser-McGurk’s fortunes shape as particularly intriguing.
The 23-year-old was bought by Delhi Capitals for A$1.65m (INR 9 crore) in 2025 off the back of his 330 runs from a mere 141 deliveries across nine matches in 2024.
Unfortunately he was unable to reprise those efforts this year, managing just 55 runs from 38 balls across six matches.
Green, meanwhile, will be one of the most keenly sought after prospects.
The allrounder has not played an IPL match since 2024, but he boasts a fine record in his two seasons in the competition.
In 29 matches, Green has made 707 runs at a strike rate of 153.69, as well as the only T20 century of his 63-game career so far.
He was thought to be a batter only in this tournament, having been originally registered as such in the auction, only for it to be revealed as an administrative error.
Smith, at the opposite end of his career to the likes of Fraser-McGurk and Green, has not played in the IPL since 2021.
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He is no stranger to the tournament, though, having featured in nine seasons since 2012. Now aged 36, retirement from one-day cricket has cleared the calendar for him to feature in the competition once again.
A total of 77 IPL list spots are up for grabs, 31 of which are reserved for overseas players.
The 20 Australians are among 1355 players to have registered, 359 of whom have been shortlisted.
One who will not be involved in the auction is Glenn Maxwell, who opted out of the competition after 13 star-studded years last month.
Nathan Ellis (Chennai Super Kings), Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals), Mitchell Marsh (Lucknow Super Giants), Marcus Stoinis (Punjab Kings), Mitch Owen (Punjab Kings), Xavier Bartlett (Punjab Kings), Tim David (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Travis Head (Sunrisers Hyderabad) are the 10 Australians who already hold existing list spots and will feature in the competition next season.
The auction will take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16 at 1pm local time (8pm AEDT).
Australians in the IPL auction
Base Price A$340,000 (Rs200 Lakh)
Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cam Green, Josh Inglis, Steve Smith
Base Price A$255,000 (Rs150 Lakh)
Jason Behrendorff, Spencer Johnson, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short
Base Price A$212,000 (Rs125 Lakh)
Beau Webster
Base Price A$170,000 (Rs100 Lakh)
Ben Dwarshuis, Daniel Sams, Will Sutherland
Base Price A$127,000 (Rs75 Lakh)
Wes Agar, Ben McDermott, Billy Stanlake
Base Price A$85,000 (Rs50 Lakh)
Jack Edwards
