A ‘tennis ball' spinner among 11 Kerala players in IPL 2026 auction list

The IPL 2026 auction list features 11 Kerala players, including a Mumbai Indians net bowler, who hasn't played for the senior state team.

Thiruvananthapuram off-spinner Jikku Bright, who bowled in the nets for MI last season, is a surprise inclusion from Kerala in the 350-player list released by the BCCI on Tuesday. Jikku, who is 27, is popular locally as a tennis-ball cricketer.

Left-arm spinner Vignesh Puthur, who had a breakout season with MI taking three wickets on debut, features in the list for a base price of ₹30 lakh.

Former Chennai Super Kings pacer K M Asif, who was the state's leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps from six innings in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20, has a base price of ₹40 lakh. Every other Kerala player will start at ₹30 lakh.

Ahammed Imran, 19-year-old opener, who deputised for Sanju Samson in the Mushtaq Ali T20 and pacer Eden Apple Tom are two exciting names on the list.

Former Kerala skipper Sachin Baby and ace pacer M D Nidheesh are among the surprise absentees from the list. Experienced middle-order batter Sachin had been dropped from the Kerala squad in the recent Mushtaq Ali T20.

The other Kerala-based players in the auction list are Rohan S Kunnummal, Salman Nizar, Abdul Bazith, Srihari Nair, Akhil Scaria and N M Sharafuddeen. The auction will take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16.