Not much, and mostly at the bargain end. Retentions lock on 17 November, only four days after the league stage opens, so the contracts that matter are settled before most innings are played. Last season backs that up: the biggest paydays went to players with modest tournament numbers, while the two leading wicket-takers earned three times their base price. Form still lifts the cheaper end of the market, which is where unfashionable names usually find a bidder, and that part of the pool stays open.
The Elite stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starts on 14 November, and the league phase wraps up on 26 November. Nagpur then hosts the Super League and the final between 30 November and 6 December. Franchises, meanwhile, finalise their retained lists on 17 November after the BCCI pushed that date back from 15 November. The sequence leaves almost no room for a breakout innings to matter.
Last year the order was reversed. Lists closed on 15 November, with the tournament still eleven days from starting, and the auction itself fell on the final Super League day. Teams this time see only a handful of league games before locking their squads. Goa hosts the mini-auction on 16 December, ten days after the final.
Scouts use this tournament to narrow names; price comes from elsewhere. Before Delhi Capitals paid 8.4 crore for Auqib Nabi, they looked at him during a training camp, so tournament form was only one factor. Registration closes on 23 November and the auction register appears on 3 December, which gives the filter a narrow window.
Shortlists are due on 1 December, and nothing played after that date can add a name. The Super League and the final can only lift bidding on players already listed. That makes the early league games the real audition for anyone hoping to be noticed by a franchise analyst.
Pune hosted the final on 18 December 2025, and Jharkhand won it, defeating Haryana with 69 runs to spare. Their captain Ishan Kishan scored the most runs, 517, yet SRH had retained him before a ball was bowled. Anukul Roy, named best player of the tournament, was another retained name, kept by KKR. That left just the two top wicket-takers to face the bidders, and each fetched triple the base fee.
Sushant Mishra claimed three wickets in that final, only two days after Rajasthan Royals signed him, which took his tally to 22. Ashok Sharma also finished with 22 and landed at Gujarat Titans. Both cost Rs 0.90 crore from a base of 0.30.
Chennai paid 14.2 crore apiece to land Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, a record for uncapped Indians, with both starting at 30 lakh. Veer managed nine wickets and 112 runs in the tournament, and Kartik scored 133 runs in five matches. Those are decent figures, not 14 crore figures, and they show how far price can drift from output.
On auction day, Sarfaraz Khan struck a fifty off 15 balls, stayed unsold in the first round, and eventually signed with CSK for his base price of 75 lakh. Tanay Thyagarajan took 16 wickets, and Karan Lal hit 219 runs, striking at 198.03, yet both found no buyer. Franchises signed 40 uncapped players, and 26 of them cost nothing beyond the base. SRH added eight of them, Rajasthan Royals six.
Retentions are beyond the players’ control, so the pool is all that remains. A bowler hitting speeds in the late 140s, like Ashok Sharma, can convert curiosity into competitive bidding. The band between 30 lakh and 1 crore is where good form earns a visible bump, and that is where most of the movement happens.
The huge cheques follow scouting reports, age and role; a hot fortnight barely matters. Expect SMAT 2026 to influence IPL 2027 auction results only at the modest end, and treat a big jump as the exception.
Can a hot SMAT fortnight still change a franchise’s mind, or is every shortlist already settled? Tell us in the comments.
The mini-auction takes place on 16 December 2026 in Goa. That date falls ten days after the SMAT final on 6 December, which leaves franchises very little time to react to knockout performances.
When is the retention deadline for IPL 2027?
Franchises must submit their retentions by 17 November 2026. The BCCI pushed the date back from 15 November, but it still lands only four days into the SMAT league stage.
The Elite competition begins on 14 November and ends on 6 December 2026. The league stage finishes on 26 November, and Nagpur hosts the Super League and the final from 30 November.
Does Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy performance affect the IPL auction?
Yes, but mostly at the lower price bands. Last season’s two leading wicket-takers each went for triple the base price, while the biggest fees went to players with modest tournament numbers.
Who won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season?
Jharkhand won the 2025-26 title for the first time. The final at Pune ended in a 69-run win over Haryana, with Ishan Kishan finishing as the leading run-scorer.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
