IPL Auction 2026: CSK buys Prithvi Shaw during accelerated auction

Prithvi Shaw’s name came up at the IPL Auction 2026 with a base price of ₹75 lakh, but the bidding room stayed silent. Once viewed as one of India’s most explosive opening batters, Shaw went unsold, marking a sharp turn for a player who had been a franchise mainstay for years.

However, Sarfaraz was later bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 75 lakh during the accelerated auction.

Delhi Capitals released Shaw ahead of IPL 2025 after previously retaining him for ₹6 crore. The Mumbai-born batter went unsold at the 2025 mega auction and failed to find a buyer once again at this auction.


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The lack of interest was striking given Shaw’s long association with the league and the impact he once had at the top of the order. He entered the auction without a team for the first time since his IPL debut, as franchises opted to look past his pedigree and past numbers.

Shaw’s IPL journey began in 2018 when Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, bought him for ₹1.2 crore while he was fresh off leading India to the Under-19 World Cup title. He made an immediate impression, scoring a 44-ball 62 in just his second IPL match and finishing the season with a strike rate of 153.12.

The 2021 season remains the high point of his IPL career. Shaw scored 479 runs in 15 innings, struck four half-centuries, and ended the campaign as the seventh-highest run-getter. His form that year earned him a retention ahead of the 2022 mega auction, with Delhi Capitals backing him for ₹7.5 crore.

During the same season, Shaw also created history by becoming only the second batter in IPL history to hit six fours in an over, achieving the feat against Kolkata Knight Riders off Shivam Mavi.

Delhi Capitals remained the only IPL franchise Shaw represented. Even after a difficult 2023 season, when injuries and loss of form restricted him to just eight matches, the franchise chose to retain him, underlining the faith they had in his ability.

Shaw’s cricketing rise began much earlier and at a pace few could match. He first grabbed national attention as a 14-year-old in 2013 when he smashed 546 off 330 balls for Rizvi Springfield in the Harris Shield, an innings that featured 85 fours and five sixes and stood as the highest score in school cricket at the time.

His progression through the ranks was rapid. Shaw was part of the India Under-19 side that won the Youth Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in 2016. Months later, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in a semi-final against Tamil Nadu, scoring a second-innings century that powered his team to victory. In 2017, at just 17, he became the youngest player to score a century on Duleep Trophy debut, surpassing a record previously held by Sachin Tendulkar.

Later that year, Shaw captained India to victory at the Under-19 World Cup. During the tournament, he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils at the 2018 IPL auction, setting the stage for his professional T20 career. His aggressive batting soon caught the eye of then Delhi coach Ricky Ponting, and strong performances for India A in England and at home further pushed him into the senior national reckoning.

Shaw made his Test debut against West Indies in Rajkot in November 2018 and announced himself on the biggest stage by becoming the youngest Indian to score a Test century on debut, and the second-youngest overall for India after Sachin Tendulkar.