Kerala Cricket League 2026 Auction: Sachin Baby Leads Bidding at ₹10 Lakh as Franchises Build Squads

The Kerala Cricket League (KCL) Season 3 player auction took centre stage on Saturday in Thiruvananthapuram, with all six franchises finalising their retained lists ahead of the highly anticipated bidding event. Each franchise entered the auction with a purse of ₹50 lakh, with the cost of retained players deducted from the overall budget. A total of 156 players were available for selection as teams aimed to assemble squads of 16 to 20 members.

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The auction proceeded through multiple categories, with the base price for Category A players reduced to ₹1.50 lakh midway through proceedings. Sachin Baby emerged as the most expensive acquisition of the day, securing a ₹10 lakh deal, while wicketkeeper-batter Vishnu Vinod joined Trivandrum Royals for ₹7.80 lakh.

Key transactions included Nikhil M, who was initially bought by Thrissur Titans for ₹6.40 lakh before Trivandrum Royals exercised their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain him at the same price. Akshay Manohar went to Trivandrum Royals for ₹4.80 lakh, while Nikhil Thottath secured a ₹3.60 lakh deal with Thrissur Titans. Basil NP was acquired by Trivandrum Royals for ₹2.30 lakh, and Jerin PS joined Kochi Blue Tigers for the same amount.

Kochi Blue Tigers were active in the lower price brackets, signing Sachin Suresh for ₹1.90 lakh and Midhun S for ₹1.50 lakh. Aries Kollam Sailors picked up Midhun S for ₹1.50 lakh and Mohammed Ishaque for the same base price. Calicut Globstars acquired Akhin Sathar for ₹1.50 lakh, while Alleppey Ripples used their RTM to secure Akshay TK at the base price of ₹1.50 lakh after Kochi Blue Tigers had initially bid for him.

Several notable players went unsold across various rounds, including Manu Krishnan, Vishnu Raj, Riya Basheer, Appu Prakash, Shine John Jacob, Aadithya Baiju, Hrishikesh Nair, Sreevardhan Murali, Kiran Sagar, Pavan Sreedhar, Asif Ali, Adithya Krishnan, Akshay SS, Arjun Venugopal, Mohammed Kaif, Aswanth Sanker, Kamil Aboobacker, Krishna Narayan, Sachin MS, Amay Manohar, Tomas Mathew, Jishnu A, Omar Abubacker, Vinay Varghese, Aswin Anand, and Abhiram S.

The Kerala Cricket League auction continued in Trivandrum with franchises balancing experienced campaigners and promising local talent. Alleppey Ripples entered the auction in the strongest financial position, retaining only one player and holding the highest remaining purse of ₹42.5 lakh, though they faced the largest rebuilding task with at least 15 slots to fill. Kochi Blue Tigers retained two players and held ₹41 lakh, needing 14 additions. Trivandrum Royals retained three players with ₹39.5 lakh available, while Thrissur Titans and reigning champions Aries Kollam Sailors each retained four players, leaving them with ₹34.5 lakh. Calicut Globstars had the smallest purse at ₹33.75 lakh after retaining three key players but still had room for at least 13 new signings.

Established names such as Basil Thampi and MD Nidheesh were among the headline attractions. Meanwhile, India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson will not feature in KCL Season 3. The Kochi Blue Tigers opted not to retain their marquee player from last season, and with Samson unavailable due to prior commitments, his name was also absent from the auction pool.

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