Why is Vijay Shankar an Uncapped Player in IPL Auction 2026?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction is around the corner and the preparations are in full flow. The bidding event is all set to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, marking the third instance when the auction will be held overseas.

When the IPL 2026 auction was announced, as many as 1350 players registered their names. However, after the shortlisting, only 350 players were finalised and they will be going under the hammer to fill in the available 77 slots that teams are looking for.

Out of the 350 players, a total of 240 players are Indian, while 110 are overseas players. Of the 240 Indian players, 224 are uncapped players and 14 are overseas uncapped players. In the available 77 slots, 31 are reserved for overseas players.

Why is Vijay Shankar Added as Uncapped Player in IPL Auction 2026?

One of the fascinating things that has caught the attention of many was Vijay Shankar being named in the uncapped category. This came as a massive development, especially with the all-rounder playing a role for India in white-ball formats. Shankar has played 12 ODIs and has featured in 9 T20Is. But his last outing came in 2019 for India. At one point. he was among the best all-rounders in India but has now fallen down in the pecking order.

Vijay Shankar uncapped player list availability raised a lot of eyebrows as he has already played international cricket for India. This is because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a rule last year. As per the rule of uncapped player in IPL, which was introduced ahead of IPL 2025, states:

“A previously capped Indian international can be classified as uncapped if they have not featured in the playing XI for India across formats - Tests, ODIs or T20Is - in the last five calendar years, and do not hold a current BCCI central contract.”

Other Players Under Uncapped Player Rule in IPL

The rule was introduced for the Indian players and was aimed at streamlining the pool, especially for veterans and fringe internationals. The rule came into effect and was used for MS Dhoni and Sandeep Sharma.

Dhoni, who is one of the best players in IPL history, was picked as an uncapped player by Chennai Super Kings, while Sandeep Sharma was acquired by Rajasthan Royals at a capped retention salary of ₹4 crore. Shankar will be the third player to be part of this list now.

Vijay Shankar has set himself a base price of ₹30 lakh but it will be hard for him to make a comeback as he struggled big time last year while playing for Chennai Super Kings. He was released from the franchise and now would hope for someone else to take him. Vijay Shankar IPL auction presence means that the CSK fans will have an eye on him.

Vijay Shankar will be part of the uncapped player set along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Tanush Kotian, Auqib Nabi, Mahipal Lomror and Prashant Veer. It remains to be seen if he finds a bid this time around or not. He has a decent record and is quite experienced in T20s, having slammed 2583 runs and bagging 38 wickets.