Aakash Chopra names the 5 most expensive foreign players in the upcoming IPL 2026 mini-auction
The top tier IPL 2026 mini-auction picks
In a video on his Instagram account, Aakash Chopra is unequivocal about the player who will star in the bidding war, leaving the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green at the top. Chopra believes Green is unrivaled at auction and makes a strong statement about his potential value:
“Cameron Green will be number 1, there is no one around him. Whatever the final price is, he will only get the maximum cap of Rs 18 crore, but it could be a huge bidding war. KKR will be there and CSK will be there and there will be another team that will step in before CSK, it could even go up to Rs 25 to 28 crore for him.” said Chopra.
Following Green, Chopra predicts a high demand for English products Jonny Bairstow at number two, citing his recent form and versatility: “I have placed Jonny Bairstow at number 2. He has scored a lot of runs and also played a few matches for Mumbai Indians last season. Many teams can bid for him. KKR need a wicketkeeper-batsman and DC need an explosive batsman of the highest order, so I think there will be a lot of interest in him.” Chopra added.
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High-quality specialists and recency bias
For the third most expensive slot, Chopra selects the explosive English all-rounder, Liam Livingstone. His reasoning is purely market-driven and highlights the scarcity of high-impact finishers:
“Liam Livingstone has not performed well, his performance has not been up to par whether it was for Punjab or RCB, but now everything depends on supply and demand, there is no explosive mid-range player in the auction, even Maxi (Maxwell) is not there now. So I think Livingstone will also make money this time.”
In the bottom half of his top five, Chopra places a collection of high-quality specialists and all-rounders. In fourth place he calls the spin bowling all-rounders Michael Bracewell (New Zealand) and Cooper Connolly (Australia), with a specific call for a franchise:
“There should be a lot of interest in Michael Bracewell, but unfortunately there isn’t. CSK, you need an offie (off-spinner), he also bats well. So CSK should consider him. Ricky Ponting now has a place available abroad, so Connolly could be an option there.”
Finally, Chopra lists three players for the fifth position, those from South Africa David Miller And Anrich Nortjeand that of Sri Lanka Matheesha Pathirana, predicting a huge price increase for South Africans due to immediate performance:
“The South Africa series is currently underway so there will be some recency bias. I have placed Matheesha Pathirana, David Miller and Anrich Norkhia at number 5. If Nortje and Miller perform well against India, they will make a lot of money.” Chopra concluded.
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