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As the IPL 2026 auction gets underway at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, all eyes will also be on the woman leading the proceedings, Mallika Sagar. A familiar and respected face in Indian sports auctions, Sagar will once again take charge as the official auctioneer, continuing her trailblazing journey in a space long dominated by men.As per reports, this will not be Sagar’s first appearance at an IPL auction. She made history in 2023 by becoming the first woman to conduct an IPL auction, starting with the mini-auction held in Dubai. Her confident handling of the event earned widespread praise, leading to her return for the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last year. More recently, she also conducted the Women’s Premier League
(WPL) 2026 auction, further cementing her position in the cricketing ecosystem.Mallika Sagar’s entry into Indian sports auctions began in 2021, when she became the first woman to serve as an auctioneer for the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). Her growing prominence continued with the inaugural WPL auction in 2023, widely seen as her breakthrough moment in sports auctioneering.Born into a business family in Mumbai, Sagar studied art history at Bryn Mawr College in the United States. She began her professional auctioneering career in 2001 at Christie’s in New York, one of the world’s most prestigious international auction houses. By the age of 26, she had already become the first Indian woman to work as an auctioneer at Christie’s. She later returned to India and went on to collaborate with leading institutions, including Mumbai-based Pundole’s Art Gallery.As the IPL 2026 auction unfolds—with hundreds of players set to go under the hammer—Mallika Sagar’s presence once again highlights her remarkable journey and her growing influence in India’s sports and auction landscape.
