The IPL player auction ahead of the 2024 season will take place in Dubai on December 19; This is the first time that the auction will be held abroad.
The event will coincide with the second ODI of India’s tour of South Africa, which is scheduled to take place at Gkebarha on December 19.
The ten IPL teams have until November 15 to submit the list of players they are retaining and releasing, after which the auction pool will be finalized by early December.
Each team will have a purse of Rs 100 crore (about US$12.02 million) to build their squad for the 2024 season, which is Rs 5 crore more than last season’s Rs 95 crore. How much each team has to spend on auction day depends on the value of the players they have released, in addition to their unspent purse from the 2023 auction.
Punjab Kings currently have the largest purse – INR 12.20 crore (USD 1.47 million) – while Mumbai Indians have the smallest at INR 0.05 crore (USD 0.006 million). Among the remaining teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad has Rs 6.55 crore (US$0.79 million); Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals both have Rs 4.45 crore (US$0.54 million); Lucknow Super Giants have Rs 3.55 crore (US$0.43 million); Rajasthan Royals have US$33.5 million (US$0.40 million); Royal Challengers Bangalore have Rs 1.75 crore (US$0.21 million); Kolkata Knight Riders have Rs 1.65 crore (US$0.2 million); And defending champions Chennai Super Kings have Rs 1.5 crore (US$0.18 million).
Despite being only a one-day event – compared to the two-day mega auction held once every four years – the mini auction has seen some of the most expensive purchases, especially in the category of overseas players. Ahead of the 2023 season, Sam Curran became the most expensive player in IPL history when he was bought by Punjab for Rs 18.5 crore in December last year.
Several prominent overseas players are likely to feature in the upcoming auction, including Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who recently said he is “definitely” coming back to the IPL after a gap of eight years. Pat Cummins, who did not play the IPL last year, is also likely to put his name forward for the bidding. Some other key players that the franchise is hoping to see in the auction are Travis Head, Chris Woakes, Alex Hales, Sam Billings and Gerald Coetzee.