Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman secured a lucrative deal at the IPL auction, with Kolkata Knight Riders signing him for ₹9.20 crore after an intense bidding battle.
Mustafizur attracted strong interest from his former franchises Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings, but Kolkata held firm and ultimately outbid the competition to secure the left-arm pacer.
A total of 350 players were listed in the auction, with seven Bangladesh cricketers making the shortlist. Mustafizur carried the highest base price among them at ₹2 crore.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam all entered the auction with a base price of ₹75 lakh, while Rakibul Hasan was listed at ₹30 lakh.
Taskin Ahmed, however, went unsold, with no franchise raising the paddle for the Bangladesh fast bowler at his base price.
Each IPL franchise is permitted to spend up to ₹120 crore on squad building, most of which is usually spent at the mega auction. However, ahead of the 2026 IPL, teams are taking part in a mini auction, resulting in varying purse sizes across franchises.
Kolkata Knight Riders went into the auction in a strong position, holding ₹64.30 crore in their purse. Chennai Super Kings had ₹43.40 crore available, while Sunrisers Hyderabad entered with ₹25.50 crore. Lucknow Super Giants had close to ₹23 crore at their disposal.
Elsewhere, Delhi Capitals had ₹21.80 crore, Royal Challengers Bengaluru ₹16.40 crore, Rajasthan Royals ₹16.05 crore, Gujarat Titans ₹12.90 crore, and Punjab Kings ₹11.50 crore.
Mumbai Indians had the smallest purse at just ₹2.75 crore, making their auction activity limited. In contrast, Kolkata entered with more than half of their overall budget intact, though they also had the most squad slots to fill — a factor that played into their aggressive move for Mustafizur.
