Why Will Vijay Shankar Enter the IPL 2026 Auction as an Uncapped Player?

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The mini-auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be held on 16 December in Abu Dhabi. The BCCI has released the list of players participating in the auction, and according to this list, all-rounder Vijay Shankar will be entering the mini-auction as an uncapped player.

Many fans may wonder how Vijay Shankar, who has already represented India, can be considered uncapped. As per BCCI rules, any Indian cricketer who has not played a single international match for Team India in any format in the last five years is treated as an uncapped player for the purpose of the IPL auction.

Vijay Shankar falls under this rule. He has played 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India, but his last international appearance was on 27 June 2019, which is more than five years ago. Therefore, he will enter the IPL 2026 auction as an uncapped player.

Last season, Vijay Shankar was part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The franchise bought him for ₹1.2 crore during the previous mega auction. His performance, however, was modest—he scored only 118 runs in five innings. CSK is now planning to rebuild their squad for the mini-auction, which is why they did not retain him. It remains to be seen which team signs the all-rounder in the upcoming auction. This same “five-year rule” also applied when CSK retained MS Dhoni last season.

Vijay Shankar has been playing in the IPL since 2014. Across 78 matches, he has scored 1,233 runs, including seven half-centuries. His highest score is an unbeaten 69. His best IPL season came in 2023 when, playing for Gujarat Titans, he scored 301 runs in 14 matches. He has also taken nine wickets in his IPL career.