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“Green at 1, no one comes close”: Chopra predicts most expensive overseas stars of IPL 2026 auction

Aakash Saini

Aakash Chopra and Cameron Green [Source: @Sachin_Gandhi7/x, AFP]Aakash Chopra and Cameron Green [Source: @Sachin_Gandhi7/x, AFP]

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has predicted five of the most expensive overseas signings for the upcoming IPL 2026 auction. In light of India’s ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at home, the cricketer-turned-commentator also named two Proteas stars in his list, as race for big-ticket overseas picks begins to heat up.

Aakash Chopra also named a certain young Sri Lankan fast bowler, a couple of explosive English batters and a dynamic Australian all-rounder among his top overseas contenders.

Aakash Chopra makes bold IPL 2026 auction predictions

Aakash Chopra recently shared a clip on his social media accounts, where he made some bold predictions regarding the upcoming IPL 2026 auction. The former Indian Test opener believes that apart from Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, the likes of South African batter David Miller and fast bowler Anrich Nortje might also get a “lot of money” at the auction if they manage to perform well in the ongoing T20I series.

He said:

“There is the South Africa series going on, so there is going to be some recency bias. I've kept Matheesha Pathirana, David Miller, and Anrich Nortje at No.5. If Nortje and Miller perform well against India, then they will get a lot of money.”

While Aakash Chopra picked three stars for the number fifth spot, he named New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell and Australia’s Cooper Connolly at number four. He added:

“There should be a lot of interest for Michael Bracewell, but unfortunately there isn't. CSK, you need an offie, he does bat well too. So, CSK should think about him. Ricky Ponting has an overseas slot empty now, so Connolly is an option there.”

Aakash Chopra further believes that English cricketers Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone might become the second and third most expensive buys of the bidding event.

“Livingstone has been an underperformer, he has been underwhelming, whether it be for Punjab or RCB. But, it is all about Supply and Demand now, there are no explosive middle-order players, even Maxi (Maxwell) is not there now. So, I think Livingstone will make money this time too. I have kept Jonny Bairstow at No.2. He has hit a lot, and played a few matches for the Mumbai Indians last season as well. Plenty of teams can go after him. KKR need a keeper-batter, and DC need an explosive batter at the top of the order, so I think there will be a lot of interest for him.”

For his most expensive IPL 2026 auction pick, Aakash Chopra named Cameron Green at number one, claiming that franchises like KKR and CSK can go all out to nab the Australian star. He concluded:

“Cameron Green will be at No.1, there is nobody even coming close. How much ever the final price is, he is only going to get the maximum cap of INR 18 crore, but the bid, it could be a proper bidding war. There will be KKR and there will be CSK, and there will some other team that jumps in before CSK, it could actually be 25 to 28 crores for him.”

Nonetheless, it remains to be seen which players can set the cash registers ringing at the IPL 2026 auction later this week. The much-awaited bidding event will be staged in Abu Dhabi on December 16.