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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction will be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, marking the second consecutive year the event will be held overseas, following the 2024 auction in Dubai. Interestingly, the auction dates coincide with the third and fourth days of the first Test match between India and Australia in Perth, creating a potential clash for cricket enthusiasts.
Unlike the regular IPL auctions held annually, the mega auction, which takes place every three years, is a more significant event spanning two days. It is one of the most anticipated events in the cricketing world, as the ten IPL franchises use this opportunity to assemble their squads for the next three seasons (2025-27). With a total of 1574 players (1165 Indian and 409 overseas) having registered for the auction by the November 4 deadline, as announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the competition for spots is fierce.
The auction will be held at the Abady Al Johar Arena (also known as Benchmark Arena), featuring players from a wide range of countries, including Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Scotland, USA, and UAE, in addition to the full member nations excluding Pakistan. Each franchise is allowed to build a squad of up to 25 players, meaning that there are 204 slots available at the auction after the retention process.
On October 31, the deadline for teams to finalize their player retentions from the 2024 squads, a total of 46 players were retained across the ten franchises. Sunrisers Hyderabad's wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen emerged as the most expensive retention at INR 23 crore, while Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow Super Giants) tied for second at INR 21 crore. However, perhaps the most notable highlight of retention day was Mumbai Indians' decision to retain all their key Indian players – Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma – for a total of INR 75 crore, showcasing their commitment to their core talent.
Each team is allocated a purse of INR 120 crore to build their squads. Following the retentions, Punjab Kings find themselves with the largest remaining purse of INR 110.5 crore to spend at the mega auction, having retained only two uncapped players – Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh – for a combined INR 9.5 crore. In contrast, Rajasthan Royals have the smallest purse of INR 41 crore after retaining six players, along with Kolkata Knight Riders, who will have INR 51 crore to spend at the auction.
The IPL has introduced a new rule allowing teams to retain up to six players – a maximum of five capped and two uncapped players. These players can be retained outright before the auction, or they can be bought back using the Right-to-Match (RTM) option at the auction, or a combination of both. The RTM option enables a franchise to step in at the end of the bidding process for a player they previously had on their roster and match the highest bid, thereby bringing back their player. After that, the winning bidder can choose to raise their bid, forcing the original franchise to match the increased bid if they still wish to acquire the player.
With only two players retained, Punjab Kings have the most RTM options (four) available at the auction. Royal Challengers Bangalore, having retained three players, have three RTM options, while Delhi Capitals, with four retained players, have two. Five teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants – retained five players each and thus have only one RTM option at the auction. Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, having retained six players each, have no RTM options.
Source: IPL 2025 mega auction to be held on November 24, 25 in Jeddah