Hundred Auction 2026: Top buy James Coles' Rs 4.8 crore price tag won't even make IPL Auction 2026 top 10

James Coles (Getty Images)

The Hundred Auction 2026 delivered plenty of surprises as franchises spent heavily to secure top talent for the upcoming season. While some big names went unsold, several players attracted massive bids, highlighting the growing financial strength of England’s 100-ball league. However, when discussions around record-breaking auctions begin, it is hard to ignore the Indian Premier League (IPL), which continues to dominate the cricket economy with staggering player salaries every season. The IPL 2026 auction once again saw franchises splurge crores on star players, dwarfing the spending seen in most other leagues.

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The Hundred vs IPL 2026 Auction: Top 10 Most Expensive Players ComparisonTop 10 Buys in The Hundred 2026 (Converted to INR)

James ColesLondon Spirit£390,000Rs 4.8 croreTom CurranMI London£260,000Rs 3.2 croreAdil RashidSouthern Brave£250,000Rs 3.08 croreHeinrich KlaasenManchester Super Giants (Pre-signed)£250,000Rs 3.08 croreJoe RootWelsh Fire£240,000Rs 2.95 CroreDan LawrenceSunrisers Leeds£210,000Rs 2.58 croreScott CurrieBirmingham Phoenix£210,000Rs 2.58 croreAiden MarkramManchester Super Giants£200,000Rs 2.46 croreJosh TongueManchester Super Giants£200,000Rs 2.46 croreJames VinceMI London£190,000Rs 2.34 crore

The biggest buy of the auction was James Coles, who secured a deal worth roughly Rs 4.8 crore with London Spirit. The inclusion of England stars like Joe Root, Adil Rashid, and international players like Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram underlines the growing competitiveness of the league.

Top 10 Buys in IPL 2026 Auction

Cameron GreenKolkata Knight Riders (KKR)Rs 25.20 CroreMatheesha PathiranaKolkata Knight Riders (KKR)Rs 18 CrorePrashant VeerChennai Super Kings (CSK)Rs 14.20 CroreKartik SharmaChennai Super Kings (CSK)Rs 14.20 CroreLiam LivingstonSunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)Rs 13 CroreMustafizur RahmanKolkata Knight Riders (KKR)Rs 9.20 croreJosh InglisLucknow Super Giants (LSG)Rs 8.60 croreAuqib NabiDelhi CapitalsRs 8.40 croreRavi BishnoiRajasthan RoyalsRs 7.20 croreVenkatesh IyerRoyal Challengers BengaluruRs 7.00 crore

The IPL once again dominated the financial charts with Cameron Green emerging as the most expensive player at Rs 25.20 crore, nearly five times the highest bid in The Hundred.

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IPL vs The Hundred: A Massive Financial Gap

A quick comparison highlights the scale difference between the two leagues:

Highest Hundred salary: Rs 4.8 crore

Highest IPL salary: Rs 25.20 crore

This means the top IPL player earned over 5 times more than the highest-paid player in The Hundred. The reason behind this massive gap lies because of the broadcasting rights of IPL which is much more globally popular than The Hundred and with higher franchise revenues the IPL boost one of the largest funded T20 League.

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