The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly added 19 new players to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction register, less than 24 hours before the bidding begins at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The late additions have taken the total number of players in the auction pool to 369.

BCCI's last-minute change before IPL auction 2026 leaves franchises crying ‘unprecedented’; 19 new players added

According to a reports, the last-minute expansion of the auction list has been described by both franchise officials and BCCI sources as unprecedented. A franchise official was quoted as saying that such a large number of late inclusions so close to the auction had never been seen before in IPL history.

The most high-profile Indian entrant among the new additions is Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been listed at a base price of ₹30 lakh. A consistent performer in domestic cricket and a long-time contender for national selection, Easwaran has been placed at No. 360 on the auction spreadsheet.

Several notable overseas players have also been added to the register. South African wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, a regular across formats for his national side, enters the auction with a base price of ₹1.25 crore. Fellow South African all-rounder Ethan Bosch has been listed at ₹75 lakh. Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani, known for his height and express pace, has also been included at ₹75 lakh, while New Zealand pacer Ben Sears is among the costliest of the late entrants, carrying a base price of ₹1.50 crore. Australian all-rounder Chris Green has been added at ₹75 lakh, and Malaysia international Virandeep Singh at ₹30 lakh.

The domestic contingent among the late additions largely comprises uncapped players, all listed at a base price of ₹30 lakh. These include Manisankar Murasingh (Tripura), Swastik Chikara (Uttar Pradesh), Chama Milind (Hyderabad), K.L. Shrijith (Karnataka), Rahul Raj Namala (Chhattisgarh), Virat Singh (Jharkhand), Tripuresh Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Rajesh Mohanty (Odisha), Swastik Samal (Odisha), Saransh Jain (Madhya Pradesh), Sooraj Sangaraju (Andhra) and Tanmay Agarwal (Hyderabad).

Notably, nine of the newly added players — including Murasingh, Chikara and Bosch, had earlier been briefly included in the auction pool before being withdrawn. They have now been reinstated following requests from franchises.

With the auction register now expanded to 369 players, franchises will be able to bid for a maximum of 77 cricketers, a situation that would arise only if all teams choose to fill their full 25-player squad quota. The unexpected late additions have added a fresh twist to the IPL 2026 auction just hours before proceedings begin.

Also Read: Delhi Capitals IPL 2026 Full Squad: Complete DC Players List, Auction Buys, Retentions & Purse Details