The IPL 2026 auction took place on Tuesday, December 16, in Abu Dhabi. 350 players were there in the auction as all ten franchises were involved in the bidding wars. Many big names like Cameron Green, Venkatesh Iyer, and Liam Livingstone were in the auction, and they were expected to fetch a huge sum at the auction.

Meanwhile, three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be there with the biggest purse of Rs 64.3 crore. However, the 10 teams need to fill up 77 slots with a total purse of Rs 237.55 crore and among them as well.

Here are the players the Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained before the mega auction.

Before Auction

Retained Players: Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Nuwan Thushara, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Dar, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal

Total spent: ₹108.60 crore, Purse remaining: ₹16.40 crore – Remaining slots – 8 slots (2 overseas)

During Auction

Venkatesh Iyer: The veteran all-rounder goes to RCB for 7 crore

Jacob Duffy: RCB bid for Duffy, who went to the defending champions for an INR 2 crore base price.