A little before the start of the mini auction in Abu Dhabi, Ravichandran Ashwin queried on X, “Green will turn Purple or yellow?”
The former off-spinner was reflecting on the sentiment across the street with Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings going into Tuesday’s affair with the highest purses, ₹64.30 crore and ₹43.40 crore, respectively.
In sync with the expectations, KKR and CSK were involved in a fierce bidding once Green’s name came up on the table. The Knights finally bought him for ₹25.20 crore, making him the third-most expensive player at an IPL auction, and the most expensive overseas cricketer ever.
Green surpassed the previous record bid for an overseas player — Mitchell Starc (₹24.75 crore), also by KKR in 2024. Rishabh Pant remains the costliest player in IPL
history — Lucknow Super Giants bought the Indian keeper-batsman for ₹27 crore in 2025. Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer remains second on the list at ₹26.75 crore.
It took more than 10 minutes to complete Green’s bid, with Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals also part of the process for a while. KKR’s bidding power ultimately saw them through in the fight to acquire the most valuable player at this auction.
The second-most expensive player at the 2026 auction also belonged to KKR,
Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana (₹18 crore).
Venky Mysore, KKR CEO, couldn’t hide his happiness after roping in Green. “This is something that we were really focused on and always hoping for. We were quite happy with the price that we got. You know, there was always a concern that had it gone higher, then what we would have done,” he said at a news conference.
“I think the fact is that we were very keen but not so attached. So, at some level, if we felt that it would affect our auction, the rest of the auction, we would let it go. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“I think Green adds a lot to our team and especially with our new power coach (Andre Russell)...”
Former India captain Anil Kumble thinks the Knight Riders would benefit if Green opens the innings, since they have enough capable players in the middle order.
“I would rather see him at the top of the order, either opening or at No. 3, depending on where Ajinkya Rahane wants to bat. Sunil Narine could drop down to No. 6 or No. 7 or even act as a floater,” Kumble said on JioHotstar.
Uncapped young Indian players, left-arm spin all-rounder Prashant Veer and keeper-batter Kartik Sharma, also stole the limelight with CSK ensuring both their services at ₹14.2 crore each.
But KKR didn’t rest with Green and Pathirana. They were intent on not repeating the mistakes in the IPL 2025 build-up, which were largely responsible for their low finish.
They added Mustafizur Rahman (₹9.2 crore) and Akash Deep (₹1 crore) to bolster their pace attack.
Having let go of all three wicketkeepers from their 2025 roster, KKR bought New Zealand’s Tim Seifert (₹1.5 crore) and Finn Allen (₹2 crore), besides Delhi’s hard-hitting Tejasvi Dahiya for ₹3 crore.
Sarthak Ranjan, son of Bihar politician Pappu Yadav, will also be seen in the purple jersey following his exploits in the Delhi Premier League.
KKR have certainly put together a squad which can erase the nightmares of 2025. They now have competent batters in Green and Rachin Ravindra, who can provide them with a solid start. The new crop of pacers will add sting to the attack, along with Harshit Rana.
The Abhishek Nayar-led support staff have instilled all elements to usher fresh promise for a champion bunch in IPL 2026, likely to held from March 26 to May 31.
