Uncapped Indian batter on fringes of Test squad added last minute to IPL 2026 Auction player list: Reports

Indian red-ball cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran has reportedly been added to the IPL 2026 auction list, as he is one of the 19 players coming as a late inclusion for Tuesday's (December 16) event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Easwaran, yet to play for India in any format, has been listed as No. 360 on the spreadsheet, according to Cricbuzz.

Mani Shankar Mura Singh, Virandeep Singh, Ethan Bosch, Chris Green, KL Shrijith, Swastik Chikara, Rahul Raj Namala, Virat Singh, Tripuresh Singh, Kyle Verreynne, Blessing Muzarabani, Ben Sears, Rajesh Mohanty, Swastik Samal, Saransh Jain, Sooraj Sangaraju, and Tanmay Agarwal are the remaining names added to the auction. The total number of players in the auction has increased to 369.

A franchise official said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:

As per the rules, a maximum of 77 players can be purchased in the auction, only if all the franchises have filled their approved 25-player squads.

IPL 2026 likely to begin on March 26 and run till May 31

RCB celebrate their maiden IPL 2025 win. (Credits: Getty)

Meanwhile, the 2026 edition of the IPL is likely to commence on March 26, and the final will take place on May 31. As per Cricbuzz, this was the key takeaway from the meeting between all 10 franchises and the authorities on Monday, December 15, in Abu Dhabi. However, it remains to be seen whether the tournament will kick off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The uncertainty surrounding the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the home ground of the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), looms due to the fatal stampede on June 4 during the victory celebrations, in which at least 11 people died.

The BCCI has informed the franchises that almost all overseas players will be available for the tournament. Bangladesh's players may be unavailable briefly in April, owing to international commitments.

RCB will begin as defending champions, having defeated the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final.

Edited by Parag Jain