The biggest surprise in the mini auction of IPL 2026 was Rajasthan’s young wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik Sharma. Many franchises bid heavily for this uncapped player who was only 19 years old and finally Chennai Super Kings (CSK) added him to their team for a huge amount of Rs 14.20 crore. The base price of Karthik was only Rs 30 lakh, but as soon as the bidding started, the price went up rapidly and crossed the crores mark. This amount became one of the most expensive purchases of this mini auction. CSK was keeping an eye on this player for a long time.
Karthik Sharma’s fate is open
Last year, Karthik took part in the trials of Royal Challengers Bangalore, but later he was seen in the pre-season camp of Chennai Super Kings. There was a discussion during the camp that due to injury of a player, he could be included in the team as a replacement, but this could not happen due to lack of auction registration. At the same time, this time he also gave trial for Kolkata Knight Riders. Where he surprised everyone by scoring a century in about 35 balls. KKR was also in the race to buy him in the auction. But CSK won.
Karthik Sharma is known for hitting big sixes. He made his debut in Ranji Trophy in the 2024-25 season and scored a century in the very first match against Uttarakhand. He also achieved the feat of scoring a century in his debut match in Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was also a part of the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But due to injury he had to be out of the tournament.
28 sixes in 12 T20 matches
Kartik Sharma has played 12 matches so far. During this period he has scored 334 runs at an average of 30.36. During this period he has hit only 16 fours and 28 sixes. Apart from this, he has scored 479 runs in 8 List A matches, which includes 3 centuries. Even in List A, he has scored 445 runs with the help of 2 centuries.
