Mascot: The clock starts to tick and the countdown begins. It’s that time of the year, folks, when all 10 IPL franchises go on a splurging spree to assemble the best possible squad for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. That’s right. It’s the day of the IPL auction, where over 300 players have been lined up to go under the hammer.
Originally, over 1100 players had submitted their names for the auction, out of which the teams shortlisted 333. And last evening due to a withdrawal, the final count now stands at 332. Will all of them be sold? Most probably not, but most of them promise to find takers in today’s ‘mini’ event.
The 10 franchises have a whopping purse of ₹262.95 crore to spend from, out of which, Gujarat Titans have the most capacity – a hefty sum of ₹38.15 crore, followed by the second-biggest purse of ₹34 crore for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings are the other two franchises with a bag of over ₹30 crore to splurge. Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings have plenty of money too with ₹28.95 crore, ₹23.25 crore and ₹29.1 crore respectively to fine tune their squad of players. Mumbai Indians ( ₹17.75 crore), Lucknow Super Giants ( ₹13.15 crore), and Rajasthan Royals ( ₹14.5 crore) have the smallest war chests compared to their competitors.
A total of 77 slots are available for the franchises to fill, out of 213 Indians and 116 foreigners. The format is simple. Players are categorized into different sets on the basis of their skills and will be up for grabs as and when their names are withdrawn from the bag.
The IPL auction event in Dubai may not be a grand spectacle of the two-day behemoth that the IPL mega auction is, it is nothing less. “They have been a part of the auction madness before. A special day awaits for the franchises and they are ready to get going”, wrote Indian Premier League on X.
The star-studded list featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra and more promises to deliver a charismatic 8-plus hours of entertainment. And hello, hello! Returning Rishabh Pant will be on that Delhi Capitals table using all his tactics and strategy to get some of the best guys on offer.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates