The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises that the upcoming player auction, set for November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will feature two marquee sets of players.
Each set will include 8-9 elite players, marking a return to the two-set format previously used in the 2018 and 2014 auctions, though only one marquee list was featured in the 2022 mega auction.
Expected marquee players include Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, R Ashwin, Mitchell Starc, and Jos Buttler.
Ben Stokes would have been included, but he opted out of this year’s auction, which will take place at Jeddah’s Abady Al Johar Arena, also known as Benchmark Arena.
With a base price of INR 2 crore for each marquee player, it’s anticipated that 30-50% of the available auction budget will be spent by the end of the first two sets.
Each franchise is expected to secure at least two marquee players, with projected combined costs per team ranging between INR 20-25 crore, totaling INR 200-250 crore from the overall purse of INR 641.5 crore.
Following recent player retentions, franchises have already spent INR 558.5 crore of the INR 1200 crore cap.
The auction, spanning two days, will be heavily influenced by early bids on marquee players, many of whom are expected to be swiftly secured. The Punjab Kings, holding the highest remaining budget of INR 110.5 crore, are well-positioned to secure top talent.
The BCCI has provided a comprehensive auction register of 1,574 players, including 1,165 Indian and 409 international players, with categories as follows:
– Capped Indian: 48 players
– Capped International: 272 players
– Associate Players: 30 players
– Uncapped Indians from Previous IPL Seasons: 152 players
– Uncapped Internationals from Previous IPL Seasons: 3 players
– Uncapped Indians: 965 players
– Uncapped Internationals: 104 players
Franchises have been invited to suggest additional players for the final auction list and must respond by November 12 with their selections from the register. With each team able to roster up to 25 players, approximately 204 players could be selected in the auction, including up to 70 overseas players.