Uday Saharan could be one of the players that teams might target in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction. Recently, he scored a match-winning 117* for Punjab against Chandigarh in the Ranji Trophy and helped his team win the match. He has played four first-class matches, scored 438 runs, already has two centuries and one half-century, and holds an average of 73.00. He is also the captain of Punjab.
The 21-year-old made headlines during his U19 days when he captained the Indian U19 team in the 2024 World Cup and finished as the runner-up. Uday was the leading run-scorer with 397 runs in seven matches at an average of 56.71, including one century and three half-centuries.
Given the fact that he is performing well in the top order, there could be teams in the IPL that might look for the quality of a player like Uday Saharan. Let’s take a look at three teams that might look to target Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction.
Uday Saharan could be one of the KKR picks in IPL 2026 auction. In IPL 2025, they had top-order form issues throughout the season, which was the reason why they ended up eighth in the table. It is likely that KKR might include players like Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the KKR released players 2026 list. So, that could be a position KKR will target in the auction, and they might think of targeting and buying Uday Saharan and have him in the Kolkata Knight Riders players 2026 list.
We have also seen in the past and now in the present that KKR likes to back youngsters, especially those who have done well in the U-19s. Earlier, it used to be Shubman Gill, and now Angkrish Raghuvanshi. It could be Uday Saharan next, and with Abhishek Nayar as the head coach, KKR might look to have more young players in the team and might target players like Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction.
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Similarly to KKR, Delhi Capitals also had issues in the top order in IPL 2025. Their top-order batters, especially the openers, had a disappointing season with the bat. One of the main reasons behind their decline was the inconsistency at the top, as Delhi experimented with different opening combinations throughout the season.
Players like Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk might end up in the Delhi Capitals released players 2026 list. So, DC might target top-order batters, and Uday Saharan could be one of the DC picks in IPL 2026 auction.
Punjab Kings could be another team that might look to target Uday Saharan in the IPL 2026 auction. We have seen in recent times that PBKS likes to keep domestic players, especially the uncapped ones, in their squad. After the IPL 2024 season, they retained only two players, Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, both uncapped. So there could be a possibility that Uday Saharan might be one of the Punjab Kings picks in IPL 2026 auction.
He is also the captain of Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. Punjab Kings top order, including Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Shreyas Iyer, had an impressive season and are expected to be in the Punjab Kings players 2026 list. But having Uday Saharan will also help them have good backups for everyone, and given that he plays for Punjab, he knows the conditions well.
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