Jonny Bairstow in IPL 2025 (Source: @badkebhai/X.com)
The Indian Premier League is the biggest carnival of cricket in India, and after 18 successful seasons, preparations have begun for the next edition. The 2025 season had a lot of drama in it, but it was paused for a week because of the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.
Many players could not play the whole season after the resumption due to various reasons, and therefore, a temporary replacement option was introduced for the franchises. They cannot be retained ahead of the next season, but many of them are quality cricketers and may be in high demand during the IPL 2026 auction. In this article, we will look at three of those players.
Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow is an experienced cricketer and came in as a temporary replacement in the MI squad for Ryan Rickelton during IPL 2025. He played two matches and was quite impressive, scoring 85 runs in those games at a strike-rate of 184.78.
He has the experience of playing in the IPL since 2019 and has delivered for different franchises over the years. He has two hundred and nine fifties in the league and has been a pretty successful batter for England over the years.
Jonny Bairstow's Stats In IPL
Criterion
Data
Innings
52
Runs
1674
Average
34.87
Strike-Rate
146.07
His stocks have gone down a bit in the last couple of years, but he has shown signs of returning to his best in the recent past. Thus, franchises might opt to go for an experienced overseas star in the next auction who provides a wicketkeeping option too.
Kyle Jamieson came in as a replacement for Lockie Ferguson with the same short-term replacement rule. He played four games and was quite impressive in those matches, bowling some crucial overs for the Punjab Kings in the playoffs.
He has also played for RCB in the past and is a highly rated cricketer who can deliver with the bat as well. His problem has been his injury-prone body, and so if he can keep himself fit, he could generate a lot of interest from franchises in IPL 2026 auction.
Kyle Jamieson's Stats In T20 Cricket
Criterion
Data
Innings
85
Wickets
99
Average
24.76
Strike-Rate
18.2
As evident from the table, he has a good T20 record and has international experience too, which can help him in the auction.
Mustafizur Rahman
The Bangladesh pacer surprisingly went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction despite his impressive performance in the 2024 season. However, he got a wild-card entry in the DC squad due to the temporary replacement rule and did decently with four wickets in three matches.
Mustafizur Rahman's Stats In IPL
Criterion
Data
Innings
60
Wickets
65
Average
28.44
Strike-Rate
20.9
He has plenty of variations at his disposal and has shown the ability to deliver on flat wickets in India. Overall, in 286 T20 matches, he has 358 wickets and has played across the globe. Thus, he is a wicket-taker and an experienced cricketer who could grab a lot of eyeballs in the mini-auction for the 2026 season.