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The two-day IPL mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is being used to fill the 204 remaining player slots for the 2025 season and beyond. 577 players have been shortlisted from the thousand-plus that had entered the auction. Teams can sign a minimum of 18 and maximum of 25 players during the auction.
The 577 players that have entered the auction can be broken down into 367 Indians and 210 overseas. Of the 204 slots that need to be filled, 70 will comprise of overseas players and 134 of Indians.
Among Indians, 48 are capped and the remaining are uncapped while 199 capped overseas and 12 uncapped foreign players will go under the hammer.
The teams have Rs 120 crore to spend during the auction, after accounting for the money spent on retentions. Punjab Kings have the biggest purse and Rajasthan Royals have the lowest.
A total of 82 players, including Jofra Archer, have placed themselves in the top price bracket of Rs 2 crore, hoping to shine at the two-day IPL mega auction. Additionally, 27 players are listed at Rs 1.5 crore, 18 at Rs 1.25 crore, 23 at Rs 1 crore, 92 at Rs 75 lakh, eight at Rs 50 lakh, five at Rs 40 lakh, and 320 at Rs 30 lakh.
England fast bowler James Anderson, who recently concluded his illustrious red-ball career just shy of his 42nd birthday, surprised many by registering with a base price of Rs 1.25 crore, seeking his first IPL franchise.
On the other end of the age spectrum, 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi from Bihar enters the auction as the youngest player this year. The left-handed batsman has played five first-class matches for his state and two Youth Test matches for India Under-19s, having scored a century against Australia Under-19s last month.
Among uncapped Indian players, eyes will be on Ashutosh Sharma, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora, and Mahipal Lomror. Ashutosh and Mahipal caught attention last year with their aggressive batting for Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, with Ashutosh also contributing as a left-arm spinner.
