The Indian Premier League (IPL) has requested that the 10 franchises submit their list of retained players by November 15 in order to kick off the process for the forthcoming mini-auction. The auction is anticipated to take place in the third week of December however, a date has not yet been set.
There is no such cap for the number of players that can be retained as was the case in the major auction last year in contrast to the mini-auction leading up to IPL 2023 schedule as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
A maximum of four players were allowed for the teams to be retained in the major auction last year. Each team will also have an additional INR 5 crore (USD 607,000) to spend on top of the money from the previous auction, bringing the total auction pot to INR 95 crore ( USD 11.5 million).
After last year’s auction, Punjab Kings held the largest outstanding purse, INR 3.45 crore (about USD 425,000), while Lucknow Super Giants had used up all of their funds. Royal Challengers Bangalore was next with INR 1.55 crore or roughly USD 188,000, followed by Rajasthan Royals with INR 0.95 crore or roughly USD 115,000, and Kolkata Knight Riders with INR 0.45 crore or roughly USD 55,000. Chennai Super Kings had INR 2.95 crore (around USD 358,000) remaining. Gujarat Titans, the defending champions, had INR 0.15 crore (about USD 18,000) left, while Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Delhi Capitals each had INR 0.10 crore (around USD 12,000).
Franchises typically have lesser budgets, but mini-auctions have historically resulted in some of the most expensive purchases. South African fast bowler Chris Morris, who was purchased by Royals for INR 16.25 crore, became the most expensive player at the 2021 auction. This was INR 25 lakhs more than Delhi’s winning price for Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh in 2015.
International athletes frequently make significant money at mini-auctions. Pat Cummins received INR 15.5 crore from Knight Riders in 2020, while Ben Stokes received INR 14.50 crore from Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017.
Some of the foreign players whom the franchises would be eyeing in the auction include English players Ben Stokes and Sam Curran and Australian all-rounder Cameron Green.
Three teams, the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants purchased only seven foreign players at the previous auction, thus they might be searching for a player to fill the final opening. To fill openings and boost their budgets, other teams can release one or more of their foreign players.
Additionally, during the IPL 2022, six franchises brought in injury replacements. These franchises will need to choose whether to keep the original player, the replacement player, or both if the player restriction permits.