What Is The Hundred Auction? Format, Rules and Salary Cap Explained

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The Hundred will introduce a new player auction system for the 2026 season, replacing the draft format previously used to build team squads. The auction will allow franchises to bid directly for players, similar to the system used in major global leagues like the Indian Premier League.

The event will take place over two days. The women's auction will be held first, followed by the men's auction a day later.

Eight franchises in both the men's and women's competitions will take part as they complete their squads for the upcoming season.

Why The Hundred switched from a draft to an auction

Since the competition began, teams selected players through a draft process. However, the tournament has now moved to an auction model to bring it closer to other major franchise leagues.

The change comes as several IPL franchise owners have invested in Hundred teams ahead of the 2026 season, bringing new commercial influence and financial power to the tournament.

In an auction system, players are presented one by one to the franchises and teams compete by bidding for them. The highest bid wins the player.

Pre-auction signings and squad preparation

Before the auction begins, teams were allowed to secure a maximum of four players each.

These players are usually overseas stars or England players with central contracts. Of the four, up to three could be new signings while one could be retained from the previous season.

This means each franchise enters the auction with a partially completed squad and a reduced salary budget.

Three stages of the Hundred auction

The Hundred auction will be conducted in three main phases.

• Hero players
• Hero players are the most sought-after names in the auction pool. Around 50 of these players are grouped into sets according to their roles such as batters, bowlers or all-rounders.

Teams then bid for them, with the highest bidder securing the player.

Ranked players
After the hero player round ends, each team nominates up to 25 players from the auction longlist. The most commonly nominated players become "ranked players".

These players are then auctioned in the same way as hero players.

Nominated players
The final stage involves a random draw that determines which team gets the first chance to nominate an unsigned player.

If that player receives no competing bids, he or she automatically joins the team that nominated them.

The process continues until all squads are filled.

Which players are available in the auction

Around 200 players each have been listed for both the men's and women's auctions.

Some big names were already picked before the auction began, including England white-ball captain Harry Brook, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Jacob Bethell, Jofra Archer and Will Jacks.

Among the high-profile players still available in the auction pool are England star Joe Root and Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The women's list also features major international players including Australia's Beth Mooney and England's Amy Jones.

Salary caps and player payments

Teams must operate within a salary cap when building their squads.

Men's teams have a total salary cap of £2.05 million for the season, while women's teams have a cap of £880,000.

A significant portion of this budget has already been spent on pre-auction signings.

Men's teams that signed three players before the auction have already spent about £850,000, while those with four signings have used around £950,000 of their cap.

For women's teams, the pre-auction spending ranges between £310,000 and £360,000 depending on how many players were signed early.

Wildcard picks after the auction

Even after the auction concludes, squads will not be completely locked.

Each team will leave two spots open for wildcard picks. These players will be selected later in the season based on standout performances in England's domestic T20 competition, the Vitality Blast.

This system ensures emerging players still have a pathway into the tournament after the auction ends.

Why the auction matters

For players, auctions can be life-changing moments. Franchise leagues often offer lucrative contracts and the chance to play alongside some of the best cricketers in the world.

For teams, the auction is the most important squad-building event of the season. Smart bidding and clever strategy can determine whether a team becomes a title contender or struggles throughout the tournament.

With the introduction of the auction format, The Hundred is now moving closer to the global franchise cricket model - one where the drama of bidding wars becomes almost as exciting as the matches themselves.