Who is likely to attract the biggest offers? Which players have lost? And who is the auctioneer?
Ashish Pants
It’s that time of year again – hammer time. The IPL auction is here, a day that decides the fate of so many players. Which players will find a new home? Who will remain unsold? Which players will they break the bank for? Will there be any surprises? Here is everything you need to know about the IPL 2024 auction.
Auction…again? Is it similar to what happened last year?
It is YES. A mini auction, the last before the IPL goes into another big auction ahead of IPL 2025. The 10 IPL teams have retained and traded a set of players and will look to fill their remaining spots. This auction is different from the big auction held last year. In a mini-auction, a team’s core remains largely unchanged as it tries to find the right balance and close holes.
It sounds interesting. So how many slots are available?
According to the BCCI, a total of 1166 players have registered for this year’s auction, out of which teams have picked 333 names: 214 Indians and 119 foreign players. Of these 116 players are capped, 215 are uncapped and two players are from associated countries. A total of 77 positions remain to be filled in all 10 teams. Of these, 30 are reserved for players from abroad.
Fearful. When and where will this auction take place?
December 19 in Dubai, the first time the auction is held abroad.
So far there has been a lot of talk about money. How much money does each team have to spend?
Gujarat Titans have the most money of any team left in their wallet: INR 38.15 (approx. USD 4.6 million) and have eight spots (two overseas) to fill. Lucknow Super Giants have the smallest purse available: INR 13.15 crore (USD 1.58 million approx) with which they can fill six slots (two overseas). The franchises have a combined remaining purse of INR 262.95 (approx. USD 31.58 million) Here are some of the positions each team needs to fill.
Wowza. Big numbers. How does the auction process work?
Players have been divided into 19 different sets based on their expertise: batter, allrounder, fast bowler, spinner, wicketkeeper. Uncapped players will alternate after a few sets.
A total of 23 players have signed up in the highest base price category – INR 2 crore (USD 240,000 approx). Some of them include Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur. Thirteen players have listed their base price at INR 1.5 crore (USD 180,000 approx).
Any big names missing this time?
The English trio of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jofra Archer have pulled out of the IPL this year to manage their workload. Kedar Jadhav is missing from the pruned list, while the names of Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan are also missing.
Which players could teams break the bank for?
Starc’s name will probably top this list. The fast bowler is returning to the IPL after a gap of eight years and could very well fetch big money in the auction. Rachin Ravindra has set his base price at INR 50 lakh (approx. USD 60,000) and could end up earning many multiples of that amount given the kind of ODI World Cup he just had. Here are some of the players for whom there could be fierce bidding wars.
Are there any unpolled players to watch?
There could be a few who are highly sought after, including Arshin Kulkarni, Kumar Kushagra and Musheer Khan. WHERE? Read more about them here.
Correctly. But what is this keep/trade list mentioned?
Here’s the full list of players retained, released and traded before the trade period closes on November 26.
Unlike previous years, the trade window saw some last-minute bombs. Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans in a cash deal. He was then appointed as the Mumbai captain as well. Mumbai also traded Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Here’s an explanation of how these transactions work.
Awesome. Can teams still release or trade players before the auction?
No, the retention/release period has expired. However, as per IPL rules, the player trading window starts one month after the end of a season and remains open until one week before the auction date and then continues until one month before the start of the next season. Trading will be possible again from December 20, the day after the auction, for up to one month before the start of the 2024 season.
Finally, who is the auctioneer?
It will be Mallika Sagar, who recently hosted the WPL auction on December 9. She takes over from Hugh Edmeades and is the first female auctioneer in 16 years of the IPL.
When will the IPL auction start and where can we watch it?
The player auction will take place at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai, starting at 11:30 AM local time (1:00 PM IST). It will be telecast live on Star Sports Network* on TV and also live on JioCinema app.
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Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo