Green becomes IPL’s most expensive overseas player as KKR sign him for record $2.77m
- Last updated: December 16, 2025 | 21:43
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas buy in Indian Premier League (IPL) history on Tuesday.
Green was in the first set of players in the auction in Abu Dhabi and his name triggered a bidding war with former champions Kolkata Knight Riders finally signing him for next season for Rs252 million ($2.77 million).
In rupees, Green surpassed the previous overseas record of Rs247.5 million paid by Kolkata in the 2024 auction for Mitchell Starc.
The fall of the rupee means Starc’s 2024 price was higher in dollars at $2.98 million.
Three-time winners Kolkata also acquired Sri Lankan speedster Matheesha Pathirana for Rs180 million.
England’s Liam Livingstone went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs130 million in the accelerated round after he went unsold in the first phase.
Green has a capped salary of Rs180 million due to a new “maximum fee” rule, with the remainder going to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
“Very happy, something we were focused on and hoping. Happy with the price with which we got him,” Kolkata chief executive Venky Mysore told reporters.
“He adds a lot to our team, especially with our new power coach Andre Russell. Very nice to have a young all-rounder. We know what he does with bat and ball.”
Green, 26, becomes the third most expensive player in the IPL, after India’s Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.
He has scored 707 runs in 29 IPL matches for five-time winners Mumbai Indians and defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
He missed the 2025 edition with a back injury but is currently playing in the Ashes against England.
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings made a splash with when they bought uncapped Indians Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma for Rs142 million each.
The duo’s value jumped from their base price of 3 million rupees to become joint-holders of the record for costliest uncapped players in IPL.
Another uncapped Indian Auqib Nabi - an up and coming fast bowler from Indian-administered Kashmir - went for 28 times over his base price for Rs84 million to Delhi Capitals.
Delhi got lucky landing explosive South African batter David Miller for his base price of Rs20 million.
“At that price it’s an absolute steal for Delhi Capitals,” India’s spin great Anil Kumble said on JioStar. “Overall, it’s a genius move by Delhi Capitals to add experience -- something they were missing last season.”
Mumbai brought wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock for the 10 million rupees the South African had picked as his base price. Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk, England’s Jonny Bairstow and New Zealand batter Devon Conway went unsold.
The business value of the world’s richest cricket tournament was estimated earlier this year at $18.5 billion, by US investment bank Houlihan Lokey.
The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held from March 26 to May 31, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the franchises, a report claimed on Monday.
The IPL franchises were informed about the dates by Hemang Amin, the league’s CDO, during a briefing ahead of Tuesday’s auction in Abu Dhabi, Cricbuzz said in a report.
The 19th edition of India’s domestic T20 franchise will start on March 26 with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opening their campaign. However, whether they will play their home matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is not clear yet. The stadium’s availability is in question because of the horrific stampede in Bengaluru during RCB’s celebration of their maiden IPL title a few months back.
The report claimed that while the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has received a conditional clearance from the state government to host IPL games at the venue, it is subject to meeting stipulated safety and security requirements.
Agencies