Abu Dhabi:- The 19th season of IPL will be played from March 26 to May 31 next year. However, this time the suspense remains as the opening match will be held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Last year, 11 people died in a stampede during RCB's victory celebration, due to which no final decision has been taken yet on holding the match there due to security issues.
The BCCI will clarify the situation on this only when it releases the full schedule. On the other hand, the mini auction for IPL 2026 is being held in Abu Dhabi today. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spent a record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore to buy top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, while Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed his compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player in the IPL auction. Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in a bidding war for Green. KKR also bid for Nevenkatesh Iyer, but lost out to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Who bought the spin-bowling Indian all-rounder for Rs 7 crore. A total of 359 players – 246 Indians and 113 overseas players – are part of the mini auction pool. In this, 10 franchises are bidding to fill a maximum of 77 slots, out of which 31 are reserved for foreign players.
KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad has said that he is in constant talks with the board to hold the match in Bengaluru so that fans get a chance to watch the match on their home ground.