The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that the IPL 2025 mega auction will be held on November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The registration deadline for the auction was set for November 4, and a total of 1,574 players have registered. Players from countries like India, England, Australia, Italy, and the USA have also put their names forward for the auction. However, even before the auction begins, this number is expected to be reduced by half. Let’s explore why and how this will happen.
Only half the players will go to the auction!
Surprisingly a number of 1,574 players have registered for the IPL 2025 mega auction, but this doesn’t mean that all these players will be included in the auction pool. Before the auction date, a list of these 1,574 players will be sent to all 10 teams. For instance, each team might prepare a list of 40-50 players they are interested in bidding for during the auction.
If each team shows interest in 50 players, the total number of players selected by all 10 teams would be around 500. In this case, out of the 1,574 registered players, only 500 would be included in the auction pool, and the remaining 1,074 players would be eliminated even before the auction process begins. However, it’s important to note that the actual number of players sold at the auction is typically even lower.
1,370 Players Will Return Empty-Handed!
Based on the example above, if 500 players are included in the auction pool, the number of players sold will be even fewer. With 10 teams participating in the IPL, each team can only retain a maximum of 25 players. This means the total number of players that can be sold or retained will be capped at 250.
As all teams released their retention lists on October 31, including Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, a total of 46 players have been retained by each team. This leaves only a maximum of 204 players available for purchase in the mega auction. In other words, out of the 1,574 players who registered for the mega auction, 1,370 will end up empty-handed.
Most Players Are From India
Out of the 1,574 players who have registered for the mega auction, 1,165 are from India. More than 50 players from South Africa, Australia, and England have also entered the fray. This year’s auction is set to be special, as players from countries like the USA, UAE, Canada, and even Italy have expressed their interest in participating.