IPL 2026 Auction: Sarfaraz Khan, Venkatesh Iyer send strong message an hour before Mini Auction

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Sarfaraz Khan delivered a remarkable performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20, smashing the tournament's fastest half-century just under an hour before the IPL auction in Dubai.​

Playing for Mumbai against Rajasthan in a Super League match in Pune, the right-hander reached his fifty in only 15 balls, eclipsing his previous record of 18 balls set two days earlier versus Haryana. He unleashed seven sixes and six fours, achieving a strike rate near 350, before departing for 73 off 21 balls off a slower ball from Manav Suthar.​

With a base price of Rs 75 lakh, Sarfaraz enters the auction as one of the most anticipated uncapped talents, likely to draw bids from multiple franchises given his explosive domestic form. The India player was unsold in the mega auction last year, but is expected to fetch bids this time around.

Apart from that, Venkatesh Iyer also had a sublime outing in the SMAT 2025 on the day. Playing for Madhya Pradesh, Iyer scored a terrific 70 off just 43 balls, hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes. Iyer, who fetched Rs 23.75 crore in the mega auction, was released by KKR ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction. He has a base price of Rs 2 crore and will be hoping to find a team in Abu Dhabi today.