It's that time of the 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 be left unsold? For which players will teams break the bank? Will there be any surprise picks? Here's everything you need to know about the 2024 IPL auction.
An auction…again? Is it similar to the one held last year?
It is, yes. A mini auction, the last one before the IPL goes into another mega auction ahead of IPL 2025. The 10 IPL teams have retained and traded a set of players and will be looking to fill their remaining slots. This auction is different to the mega auction that was held the year before last. At a mini auction, the core of a team remains largely unchanged as they try to find the right balance and plug holes.
Sounds interesting. So how many slots are available?
According to the BCCI, a total of 1166 players registered for this year's auction, of which the teams have shortlisted 333 names: 214 Indians and 119 overseas players. Of these 116 players are capped, 215 are uncapped, and two players are from Associate nations. A total of 77 slots across the 10 teams remain to be filled. Of these, 30 are reserved for overseas players.
Awesome. When and where will this auction be held?
December 19 in Dubai, the first time that the auction is being held overseas.
There has been a lot of money talk so far. How much does each team have left to spend?
Gujarat Titans have the maximum money, of any team, left in their purse: INR 38.15 crore (USD 4.6 million approx.) and have to fill eight slots (two overseas). Lucknow Super Giants have the smallest available purse: INR 13.15 crore (USD 1.58 million approx.) with which to fill six slots (two overseas). The franchises have a combined remaining purse of INR 262.95 crore (USD 31.58 million approx.) Here are some of the positions each team needs to fill.
Wowza. Big numbers. How does the auction process work?
The players have been divided into 19 different sets based on their specialisation: batter, allrounder, fast bowler, spinner, wicketkeeper. Capped and uncapped players will alternate after a few sets.
A total of 23 players have registered themselves in the highest base price bracket - 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 all withdrawn from the IPL this year to manage their workloads. There is no Kedar Jadhav in the pruned list, while Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan's names are also missing.
Which players could teams break the bank for?
Starc's name will probably be top-most on this list. The fast bowler returns to the IPL after an eight-year break and could well fetch big money at the auction. Rachin Ravindra has set his base price at INR 50 lakh (USD 60,000 approx), and could end up earning many multiples of that amount, given the kind of ODI World Cup he's just had. Here are some of the players for whom there could be fierce bidding wars.
Any uncapped players to keep an eye on?
There could be a few that are highly sought-after, among them Arshin Kulkarni, Kumar Kushagra and Musheer Khan. Who? Read more about them here.
Righto. But what is this retained/traded list that has been mentioned?
Here is the full list of players retained, released and traded before the trading window closed on November 26.
Unlike in previous years, the trading window witnessed a couple of last-minute bombshells. Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal. He was subsequently appointed Mumbai captain as well. Mumbai also traded Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Here's an explainer on how these trades work.
Amazing. Can teams still release or trade players ahead of the auction?
No, the retention/release deadline is over. However, according to the IPL's rules, the player trading window starts a month after a season ends, and stays open up to a week before the auction date, and then continues up until a month before the start of the next season. Trading will be possible again from December 20, the day after the auction, for up to a month before the 2024 season begins.
Lastly, 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 woman auctioneer in 16 years of the IPL.
When will the IPL auction begin and where can we watch it?
The player auction will take place at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai, starting 11.30am local time (1:00pm IST). It will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network* on TV, and also live-streamed on the JioCinema app.
*ESPNcricinfo and Disney Star are part of the Walt Disney Company.