BCCI has released a full list of 350 players who will go under the auction hammer on December 16. In the list, the Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar was registered as an uncapped player. While he has already played for India in multiple matches, his being in the uncapped players' list has created confusion. Notably, before the 2025 IPL mega auction, IPL introduced a new rule where it was said that if a player does not play any international matches for the last 5 years, he will be considered as an uncapped player. The rule said, "A capped Indian player will become uncapped if the player has, in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only." Vijay Shankar represented India in 12 ODIs and 9 T20I matches till June 2019. Meanwhile, this was the same reason why MS Dhoni was retained as an uncapped player for the Chennai Super Kings. Read also: Registered players reduced to less than half! 350 players to go under hammers in 2026 IPL Auction VIjay Shankar IPL career Last season, Shankar turned out for the Chennai Super Kings after the franchise picked him up for ₹1.2 crore during the mega auction held in Jeddah. His stint, however, didn’t go as planned. He scored 118 runs across five innings, striking at 129.67, while CSK finished at the bottom of the table. The all-rounder was eventually among the 11 players the five-time champions released ahead of the upcoming season. Across his IPL journey, Shankar has featured for four teams — Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, and CSK. He has accumulated 1,233 runs at a strike-rate of 129.78, registering seven half-centuries, and has also chipped in with nine wickets with his medium pace.