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Why Cam Green listed himself as 'batter' for IPL 2026 auction? Analysing the surprising strategy

Rajgeeta Yadav

Cameron Green is one of the prominent names in IPL 2026 auction list [Source: AFP]Cameron Green is one of the prominent names in IPL 2026 auction list [Source: AFP]

On December 9, the BCCI released the official players list for IPL 2026 mini-auction after trimming down 1390 names to 350. Out of these, 240 are from India and 110 are from overseas. All of them will go under the hammer on December 16 at the auction event set to take place at Abu Dhabi.

One of the biggest attractions this year is Australian star Cameron Green. Teams such as KKR and CSK, who hold the largest auction purses, are expected to chase the 26-year-old heavily.

Green has created huge buzz, not only due to his talent, rather due to a rather unexpected choice. Even though he is known worldwide as a genuine pace-bowling all-rounder, he has entered the auction as a batter.

This has surprised many followers of the sport. Notably, Green has delivered solid shows with both bat and ball over two IPL seasons. He has scored 707 runs from 29 games at a strike rate of 153.69, along with one century and two fifties. 

The 26-year-old has also taken 16 wickets with an economy rate of 9.07. Having said that, why did he choose the batter category?

Possible reasons behind Cameron Green’s big move

Notably, Green has not bowled regularly for a while. He did deliver a few overs during the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 series, although the workload stayed lower than his usual standard. He has dealt with repeated lower-back stress fractures that required surgery late 2024, which forced him to skip major tournaments that season. 

Due to that recovery phase, he was not used as a bowler much during recent white-ball games against South Africa and West Indies. His team management has handled his workload carefully, so he may have decided to ease pressure on his bowling profile for the moment.

A smart auction strategy

If you take a look at the IPL auction rules, the BCCI places batters first, then all-rounders, followed by bowlers. Notably, Green holds a base price of INR 2 crore. 

If he had entered the second set, only franchises with larger budgets by that stage would have had the freedom to make strong offers. That would reduce the final value of his deal. By entering as a batter, he appears earlier, at a stage where every team still holds a fair share of funds. This creates a far better chance for a massive contract.

Due to this choice, Green will appear among the first group of players, along with Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, and Prithvi Shaw. All overseas names from this set hold a base price of INR 2 crore, while the two Indian names have a base price of INR 75 lakh.