Jeddah to host IPL 2025 mega auction with 1,574 players in fray

The IPL 2025 mega auction one of the most anticipated events on the cricket calendar is set to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah Saudi Arabia This marks the second consecutive year the auction will be held overseas following Dubais hosting of the 2024 editionThe dates of the auction also coincide with the third and fourth days of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth adding extra excitement to an alreadypacked cricket scheduleThe IPL mega auction held every three years is a twoday event that attracts massive attention from fans and experts alike During this highly competitive auction the ten IPL franchises will look to strategically build their squads for the 202527 seasons making it one of the mostwatched events in the sport This years auction promises to be no different with 1574 players registered including 1165 Indian players and 409 overseas players all hoping to secure a spot in the worlds premier T20 leagueAlso Read The future of KL RahulAhead of the auction the October 31 deadline for player retentions saw a total of 46 players retained across the ten franchises The retention process has already generated plenty of buzz with some key players securing massive deals Sunrisers Hyderabads wicketkeeperbatter Heinrich Klaasen was the most expensive retention valued at INR 23 crore Virat Kohli Royal Challengers Bangalore and Nicholas Pooran Lucknow Super Giants were also retained for INR 21 crore each The highlight of retention day was Mumbai Indians securing their key Indian players mdash Jasprit Bumrah Suryakumar Yadav Hardik Pandya Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma mdash for a total of INR 75 croreFollowing the retentions the franchises now have varying budgets for the auction Each team has a total purse of INR 120 crore but the available funds differ based on the number of players retained Punjab Kings who have retained only two uncapped players Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh have the largest remaining budget of INR 1105 croreIn contrast Rajasthan Royals who retained the maximum allowed six players have the smallest purse with INR 41 crore left Kolkata Knight Riders with INR 51 crore are in a similar situation having retained six players as wellThis year teams were allowed to retain up to six players mdash five capped and up to two uncapped The retention strategy also included the use of the RighttoMatch RTM option which allows a franchise to match the highest bid for a player they retained from the 2024 squad If another franchise places a higher bid the original franchise can continue to match it potentially driving the price even higherAlso Read Mumbai Indians pack a paanchIn terms of RTM options Punjab Kings hold the most with four options available having retained just two players Royal Challengers Bangalore three retentions have three RTM options while Delhi Capitals four retentions have two Five franchises mdash Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Gujarat Titans Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants mdash each have one RTM option while Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders having retained six players are without any RTM optionsThe registration process for the IPL 2025 auction has now closed with 1574 players signed up for a spot in the league This includes 320 capped players 1224 uncapped players and 30 players from associate nations Among the overseas players Australia leads with 76 registrations followed by South Africa 91 and England 52 Other notable countries include New Zealand 39 West Indies 33 Afghanistan and Sri Lanka 29 each and the USA 10 Bangladesh Ireland Canada Netherlands Zimbabwe Scotland UAE and Italy also have players vying for a spot in the auctionEach franchise can field a maximum of 25 players meaning a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs during the auction With so much talent available the event is expected to be fiercely competitive as teams look to strengthen their squads ahead of the 2025 season and beyondWith agency inputs