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Cameron Green to land at KKR, CSK, or…: How IPL 2026 mini-auction's fiercest bidding war could be around him
Cameron Green's 2 cr base price belies expected high bids due to his rarity as a pace-bowling all-rounder.
Cameron Green’s 2 cr base price is cosmetic. In an auction where genuine pace-bowling batting all-rounders are rare, he is almost certain to spark a marquee bidding war. Strip it down, and three franchises stand out as serious suitors: KKR, CSK and LSG.
Kolkata Knight Riders
They have lost Andre Russell and, with him, a whole identity: lower-order power plus at least two overs of pace. Green is the closest replacement available - a tall right-handed batter who can bat anywhere from 3 to 6, attack pace and bowl hard lengths at Eden Gardens. KKR also walk in with the largest purse, which lets them chase a premium all-rounder without crippling the rest of their build or plans. Need plus money plus role match makes them the natural frontrunner.
Chennai Super Kings
CSK are quietly rewriting their core after a poor season. Their template has long leaned on multi-skill players - Jadeja, Stokes, Curran, Bravo, who let them play extra spin at Chepauk and still cover all phases elsewhere. Green fits that obsession: at home, he can be a no.5/no.6 offering seam overs, away, he can move up to three or four and allow CSK to surround him with spin in the bowling and finishers in the batting. With a large purse and open overseas slots, they are perfectly placed to stay in the race until the very end.
Lucknow Super Giants
LSG’s model is to stack all-rounders around a small group of specialists. Cameron Green, as a right-hand middle-order hitter and third or fourth seamer, tides up several balance problems in one go. Their limitation is financial rather than tactical: the purse is healthy but not huge, and they still need Indian specialists and death bowling. They can sensibly drive his price, but an extended duel with KKR and CSK would squeeze everything else.
Also Read: Decoding MI's IPL 2026 strategy: Prime targets for five-time champions in mini-auction
Expected price band and likely landing
Current rules cap what an overseas player can be paid at INR 18 cr in a mini-auction, even if the bidding itself goes higher; any amount above 18 is diverted into the central pool rather than to the player. In practice, 18 becomes the psychological ceiling. Given Green’s previous 17.5 cr fee and a thinner all-rounder market now, a rational curve has the bids sprinting into the roughly 17-20 range. In the books, he is almost certain to be an 18-crore player again; under the hammer, the notional winning bid can easily peek above that.
On balance, KKR looks the most probable destination - they have both the loudest Russell-sized hole and the biggest budget. CSK are a close second if they decide he is the centre piece of their reboot. LSG’s best chance is a cooler-than-expected room; if Green somehow stalls in the mid-teens, they are the one value outcome in what otherwise looks like a pure ceiling chase.
