Former India all-rounder Vijay Shankar was included in the 350-player shortlist for the IPL 2026 auction, but interestingly as an uncapped player. Shankar, who has been part of the Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals in the past, has played 12 ODIs and nine T20Is for India. However, since it has been more than five years since Shankar last played for India, he can be picked as an uncapped player, as per the last year's IPL regulation.
"A capped Indian player will become uncapped, if the player has, in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only," one of the eight player auction regulations dated September 28, 2024, read.
The rule allowed former Indian captain MS Dhoni (who last played for India in July 2019) and Sandeep Sharma (whose last appearance for India came a decade ago) to be retained by Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, respectively, as uncapped players for just INR 4 crore each.
Shankar, who had a horrible season for the Super Kings in IPL 2025, was released by the franchise and hasn't had a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Tripura, having gone past 30 just twice in seven games, including a high of 50.
At INR 30 Lakh, Shankar might not be bad backup option, but it will be interesting to see if any team is interested in backing the 34-year-old still. Shankar will be called in the seventh set of uncapped all-rounders, while being drawn alongside Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Auqib Nabi, Tanush Kotian, Mahipal Lomror and Prashant Veer.
