Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, on expected lines, turned heads at the IPL 2026 auction today at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He listed himself as a batter for the event, but his all-round abilities meant Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bid aggressively for him. Eventually, KKR managed to secure his services for Rs 25.2 crore, but Green won't be earning more than Rs 18 crore in IPL 2026.
This is because of the new 'maximum fee' rule that the IPL introduced last year to address the concern of the franchises that some overseas players register exclusively for the mini auction to earn a higher amount. Hence, the IPL came up with a maximum fee rule where no overseas player can be paid more than Rs 18 crore, which was the highest slab for franchises retaining players ahead of the mega auction of IPL 2025.
What is the exact rule?
As per the rule, if the bid exceeds Rs 18 crore, the additional money would be utilised by the BCCI for player welfare.
"Any overseas player's auction fee at a small auction will be lower than the highest retention price [of INR 18 crore] and the highest auction price at the big auction. In case the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 20 crore, then INR 18 crore will be the cap. If the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 16 crore, then the cap will be INR 16 crore.
"The incremental amount over INR 16 or 18 crore, as the case may be, will be deposited with BCCI. The incremental amount deposited with BCCI will be utilised towards players' welfare," the rule says. However, the sold amount will be charged to the auction purse of a particular team.
Hence, despite being sold for such a massive amount, Cameron Green will only get a salary of Rs 18 crore in IPL 2026. However, the maximum-fee rule does not apply to the Indian players, who will get the actual bid money.
