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Why Steve Smith’s name was never called for bidding at IPL 2026 mini-auction?

Sakshi Sharma

Steve Smith in IPL (Source: AFP)Steve Smith in IPL (Source: AFP)

In a recent development, Steve Smith’s return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) was further delayed after he failed to find a buyer at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. It is important to note that he registered himself and also made the official 369-player shortlist released by the BCCI, but the Australian star’s name was never even called out for bidding.

Why did Smith's name not feature in IPL 2026 Bidding?

Smith was listed as the 77th player in the second set of batters (Set 11) and found himself outside the main auction window. Only the first 10 sets, consisting of the first 70 players, were guaranteed to come under the hammer. 

All remaining players, including Smith, could only be picked if franchises specifically showed interest in them.

After the first 10 sets were completed, the auction moved into the accelerated round. In this phase, teams were asked to submit the names of players they wanted to bid for. Unfortunately for Smith, no franchise submitted his name, so he was never in the bidding.

It is vital to mention that even during later stages of the auction, which included the recall round of 43 players and the final round of 17 players, Smith’s name was again missing. This confirmed that no IPL team expressed interest in bringing the star player on board.

Steve Smith’s last IPL appearance came in 2021 with the Delhi Capitals, after which he has not been picked again. Overall, looking at the stats, he has played 103 matches and scored 2485 runs at an average of 34.51 and a strike rate of 128.09. The star player has played for four franchises in his IPL career - Pune Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiant, Rajasthan Royals, and Delhi Capitals.

Massive update on Steve Smith

Meanwhile, Smith is currently in the spotlight for different reasons. Australia is playing the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, but Smith has been ruled out of the match due to an inner ear issue that caused dizziness and nausea. He left the field just 20 minutes before the toss, forcing Usman Khawaja to bat at No. 4, while Pat Cummins returned as captain.