IPL 2026 auction: Meet top 5 Test players in auction including an Indian
IPL 2026 auction: Steve Smith (121 Test), Jonny Bairstow (100 Tests), Kusal Mendis (73 Tests), Jason Holder (69 Tests), and Umesh Yadav (57 Tests) are the top 5 Test players registered for the upcoming auction on December 16.
Steve Smith (Australia)
Tests: 121
Auction Base Price: INR 2 Crore
Steve Smith needs to introduction when it comes to Test cricket with over 10,000 runs to his name. In IPL though, he last played in 2021 with Delhi Capitals and is making a comeback. Overall, he has played 101 IPL matches and scored 2,484 runs including a hundred as well.
Jonny Bairstow (England)
Tests: 100
Auction Base Price: INR 1 Crore
He is England's one of the best wicketkeeper-batters along with Jos Buttler with 6,042 red-ball runs. In IPL, he has played 52 matches for three teams and scored 1,674 runs at a strike rate of 146.
Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Tests: 73
Auction Base Price: INR 75 lakh
The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper can play aggressively whenever required as visible by his T20 strike-rate of 137 after 194 matches.
In IPL, he has played only one match - in 2025 - for Gujarat Titans and scored 20 runs in 10 balls.
Jason Holder (West Indies)
Tests: 69
Auction Base Price: INR 2 Crore
He's a modern-day great for West Indies across formats more than 3K Test runs and 150 wickets to go with. In T20s, he has nearly 350 wickets and more than 3K runs as well.
In IPL though, he has not been much effective with 53 wickets and just 259 runs in 46 matches for five teams in more than a decade.
Umesh Yadav (India)
Tests: 57
Auction Base Price: INR 1.5 Crore
Umesh has 170 wickets and most of them came on dead subcontinent pitches where he was India's workhorse bowler for most part of 2010s.
In IPL, he has played 144 matches and taken 148 wickets as well.
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