IPL 2026 Auction Update: Abhimanyu Easwaran’s Name Re-Included After Omission
As IPL team officials arrived in Abu Dhabi, it became clear that Bangladesh players might not be fully available for the 2026 IPL season. Bangladesh are set to play six limited-overs matches against New Zealand in April, which could clash with the IPL.
There are seven Bangladesh players listed in the auction, with base prices between ₹30 lakh and ₹2 crore. However, only Mustafizur Rahman is likely to attract serious interest from IPL teams. Even he may miss the start of the season because of national duties and could join later as a replacement player, just like last year.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it will issue NOC for its players. "We will give them NOC for most part of IPL because we want them to play as much as possible so we will bring them for minimum requirement (for the white-ball series against New Zealand)," BCB cricket operation chairman Nazmul Abedin told Cricbuzz on Sunday.
Meanwhile, word has emerged that the BCCI has added a few extra players to the register that was made public recently. The BCCI is expected to disclose the new names at the briefing with the franchises on Monday evening, but it is understood that Abhimanyu Easwaran's name has been added to the spreadsheet.
Easwaran, the captain of Bengal, was in the initial list after being recommended by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) with a base price of Rs 30 lakh, but his name was missing from the final list of 350 players released recently. However, it is understood that his name has been forwarded again by a franchise and that he is among the late entrants to the register.
"For the purposes of this Player Auction, a player's expected unavailability for part of the IPL 2026 season will be ignored. The full amount of the annual League Fee bid (assuming 100% availability) will be deducted from the Salary Cap. However, to assist Franchisees in determining their strategy, BCCI will give an expected availability for each relevant player for the IPL 2026 season," the BCCI communique on auction rules states.