Uncapped Indians were front and centre of the IPL 2026 mini auction on Tuesday, with quite a few unknown players triggering bidding wars and causing a stir. Promising talents from domestic cricket or state-run leagues were in greater demand than established Indians or overseas players. Get to know the big uncapped Indian buys from the auction.
Prashant Veer - CSK, INR 14.2 crore
From turning out for Noida Super Kings in the UPT20 League to being spoken of as a potential long-term replacement for Ravindra Jadeja at Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Prashant Veer's rise at 20 is the stuff dreams are made of. Nicknamed 'Miller' on the age-group circuit for his appetite for six-hitting, he is now the joint-highest-paid uncapped Indian at the IPL with a staggering bid.
Veer finished the UPT20 with 320 runs at a strike rate of 155 and chipped in with eight wickets, returns rich enough to be fast-tracked into senior cricket. What followed was a whirlwind: shuttling between the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Under-23s, he played and performed in six matches across seven days, splitting his time between Kolkata and Mumbai, before earning his massive pay day.
Salil Arora - SRH, INR 1.50 crore
Salil Arora, 23, could be the next big batter from Punjab's T20 powerhouse after Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Naman Dhir.
A finisher, Arora maintained a stable base while hitting sixes and was able to access both the off side and leg side during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He struck 358 runs in eight innings in the competition at a strike rate of almost 200. He topped the sixes charts, with 28 hits over the boundary, with Abhishek (26) slotting in behind him.
Such a gung-ho approach aligns with Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) batting philosophy, and at INR 1.5 crore, he could be a value buy. Arora can also keep wicket if needed and provides back-up to Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen.
Mangesh Yadav - RCB, INR 5.20 crore
A skiddy left-arm quick who can consistently touch 140kph, the 24-year-old Mangesh Yadav topped the wickets chart at the MP T20 League, claiming 14 wickets for Gwalior Cheetahs and walking away with the Emerging Player award. Those performances earned him a spot, albeit belatedly, in the senior team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he picked up two wickets in three matches and also underlined his all-round value with a brisk 28 off 12 balls.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had been tracking his MPT20 run closely and invited him for trials, where he caught the eye of Malolan Rangarajan. Little wonder, then, that they went hard to secure his services for INR 5.2 crore, marking a staggering 1633% leap from his base price of INR 30 lakh. Mangesh is seen as an ideal back-up for Yash Dayal, who hasn't played any cricket since this year's IPL final.
Tejasvi Dahiya - KKR, INR 3 crore
Another explosive wicketkeeper-batter with a penchant for hitting sixes, Tejasvi Dahiya, registered as Tejasvi Singh, went to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after they lost out on Kartik. Dahiya, 23, smashed 339 runs in ten innings at a strike rate of 190.45 in the 2025 Delhi Premier League. Only Nitish Rana (34) scored more sixes than Dahiya's 29 during the competition.
Dahiya was also at it in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, belting 113 runs off 67 balls, including a 19-ball 53* against Karnataka in Ahmedabad. Dahiya's strike rate of 278.94 is the second-highest by a Delhi batter, behind Rishabh Pant's 305.26, in an innings for a minimum of 15 balls faced in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Dahiya idolises MS Dhoni and trains under Sanjay Bharadwaj, who has coached the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Priyansh Arya.
Kartik Sharma became the joint-most expensive uncapped player in the history of the IPL auction
Kartik Sharma - CSK, INR 14.2 crore
A serial six-hitter from Bharatpur, Kartik Sharma emerged from the Rajasthan Premier League in 2023 and two years later had five franchises bidding for him in the IPL mini auction. CSK were so impressed by his six-hitting that they forked out INR 14.2 crore for him despite splurging an identical sum on Prashant Veer, another uncapped Indian player.
Kartik has crashed 28 sixes in 11 T20 innings so far, and has a strike rate of 162.92 in the shortest format. He was also the joint-highest six-hitter in the first phase of the 2025-26 Ranji season and the highest six-hitter in the previous Vijay Hazare Trophy. He also trained with the CSK squad last season and showed that he could hit the ball high and far against bowlers with IPL experience as well.
He has taken down both pace and spin in domestic cricket. In the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he lined up both Shreyas Gopal and R Sai Kishore, who are among the leading spin bowlers in domestic cricket.
Naman Tiwari - LSG, INR 1 crore
Naman Tiwari first grabbed attention when won the Lucknow leg of a pace hunt programme as a 16-year-old. Since then, he has followed an upward curve as he rose through the age-group circuit as a menacing left-arm quick with a mean inswinger.
He firmly entered scouting radars during last year's Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, and the step-up to senior cricket has been seamless. Tiwari finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the UPT20, claiming 19 wickets in ten matches. Already familiar with IPL environments through a stint as a net bowler with Rajasthan Royals (RR), he now arrives at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with plenty of confidence and performances to boot.
Auqib Nabi - DC, INR 8.40 crore
Picked by Delhi Capitals for INR 8.40 crore, Auqib Nabi, registered as Auqib Dar, was the most expensive Indian bowler - capped or uncapped - at the mini auction. Nabi, 29, is primarily a swing bowler, but has also improved his skills at the death, which was on display during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
If there isn't much swing on offer, Nabi can keep it tight with his accurate lengths and lines. He can also pitch in with the bat - in his most recent T20 game, he top-scored for Jammu & Kashmir with 32 off 21 balls from No.7.
Mukul Choudhary - LSG, INR 2.60 crore
A product of the same Jaipur academy that shaped Kartik Sharma and Ashok Sharma, Mukul Choudhary began his journey as a fast bowler until circumstance nudged him on to a different path. A shortage of wicketkeepers in an academy game forced him to don the gloves, and over time, he has grown into the role.
His career, though, has not been without setbacks. After a patchy debut season for Rajasthan two years ago, where he featured in just two matches before being dropped, Choudhary turned things around this season. Turning out in the Under-23s, he piled up 617 runs at a staggering average of 102.83, underlining remarkable consistency, and finished as the tournament's leading six-hitter. Those returns paved the way for a recall to the Rajasthan squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, stepping in for an injured Kartik.