How does the IPL auction work? Complete beginner's guide (2026)

Quick answer: how does the IPL auction work?

Players register with the BCCI through their national board. Teams create shortlists from the pool. Each player enters with a base price they've chosen. Franchises then bid openly against each other, with the highest bidder winning the player. Every bid gets deducted from that team's fixed purse. Players who receive no bids go unsold initially but can return in an accelerated round. The whole thing wraps up in a single day (for mini auctions) or 2 days (for mega auctions).

 

What is the IPL auction?

The IPL auction is how all 10 franchises build their squads before each season. It's a live, open bidding event where teams compete for players using a fixed budget called a purse.

Every player who enters the room has a base price, a floor below which no bid can go. From there, teams raise paddles (or electronic bids) until one franchise is left standing. That team wins the player, and the winning amount gets deducted from their purse immediately.

The BCCI runs the auction, and a professional auctioneer handles the room. Hugh Edmeades has been the face of most IPL auctions since 2018.

Why the IPL auction exists

Before 2008, cricket didn't have a mechanism to distribute talent fairly across franchise teams. The auction model borrowed from the NBA and NFL drafts but made it more market-driven: instead of picking by rank, teams compete financially. This keeps things transparent, prevents monopolies, and (in theory) gives every franchise a shot at the same player pool.

It also creates a genuine constraint. Every team gets the same starting purse. A richer owner can't just outspend everyone into a dynasty, because the purse is capped.

How it differs from traditional sports drafts

In the NFL or NBA draft, teams pick in a fixed order, usually reverse of the previous season's standings. No money changes hands at the draft itself.

The IPL auction works differently. Every franchise competes simultaneously for every player, bids drive the price up in real time, and the market decides who's worth what. A player with a ₹75 lakh base price can walk away for ₹14 crore if 3 teams want him badly enough. That happened at the IPL 2026 auction when uncapped Indian players Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma both fetched ₹14.20 crore each from Chennai Super Kings after starting at ₹30 lakh.

 

You Can Also Check Out How IPL Teams Earns Money?

 

Who can register for the IPL auction?

Eligibility criteria for Indian players

Any Indian cricketer who isn't already contracted to an IPL franchise can register. That includes:

• Capped players (those who've played international cricket for India)

• Uncapped players (domestic cricketers who haven't represented India yet)

• Players released by their previous franchise ahead of the auction window

There's no minimum age set in stone, though players typically need to be registered with a state cricket association. A player who's been retired from international cricket for 5 or more years gets reclassified as uncapped for auction purposes. That's why MS Dhoni was technically "uncapped" heading into the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Eligibility criteria for overseas players

Foreign players can register if their national cricket board approves them. The BCCI liaises directly with boards like Cricket Australia, ECB, Cricket South Africa, and others to confirm availability and clearances.

Each franchise can hold a maximum of 8 overseas players in their squad and field 4 in any given match. That 4-player limit makes every overseas slot a strategic call.

For mini auctions specifically, the IPL 2026 rules introduced a salary cap for overseas players. The maximum any international player can earn at auction is capped at the lower of: the highest retention price (₹18 crore) or the highest bid at the previous mega auction. Since Rishabh Pant went for ₹27 crore at the 2025 mega auction, the effective overseas cap at IPL 2026 was ₹18 crore. Cameron Green still went for ₹25.20 crore, but the amount above ₹18 crore went to the BCCI's welfare fund.

There's also a penalty rule. Any fully fit overseas player who skips a mandatory mega auction gets banned from the tournament for a year.

How players submit their names

Players register through their national cricket board, not directly with the BCCI. The board submits their names to the BCCI along with the player's chosen base price from the available tiers. The BCCI then shortlists players from the full applicant pool based on franchise feedback and availability confirmations.

For the IPL 2026 mini auction, 1,390 players registered. The BCCI shortlisted 369 of them. 77 were eventually sold.

 

How does the IPL auction process work?

Step 1 – Player registration

Players (via their national boards) submit their names and choose a base price from the BCCI's fixed tiers. The deadline is set weeks before the auction. Once registered, the BCCI compiles the full applicant list.

Step 2 – Franchise shortlisting

Before the auction, every franchise gets the full list and submits a shortlist of players they're interested in. The BCCI uses this to trim the pool. Players who get zero franchise interest typically don't make the final auction list.

This shortlisting step is where the real strategy begins. Teams are already mapping budget vs. target at this stage, weeks before the room opens.

Step 3 – Base price selection

Each player enters the auction at the base price they've chosen. For capped players at the 2025 mega auction, the tiers ran from ₹75 lakh up to ₹2 crore. Uncapped Indian players could go as low as ₹30 lakh.

Players can't change their base price after submission. And they have no say in how high the bidding goes from there.

Step 4 – Live bidding process

The auctioneer calls a player, displays their stats on screen, and opens bidding at the base price. Franchises bid by raising their electronic paddles. The auctioneer escalates in set increments. Once only one team is bidding, the hammer falls.

The winning amount gets instantly deducted from that franchise's remaining purse. So every decision is live and irreversible.

Step 5 – Sold and unsold players

A player sold goes to the winning franchise. Their contract begins immediately after the auction closes. A player who receives zero bids goes "unsold" for that set but can come back in the accelerated round later.

 

What is a base price in IPL auctions?

The base price is the minimum a team can bid for a player. It's the floor, not the ceiling.

How base prices are decided

Players choose their own base price from BCCI-approved tiers. The choice is strategic. Set it too high and teams might skip you. Set it low and you might get ignored anyway, or you might spark a bidding war that takes you to 20x your base.

Rishabh Pant set his base price at ₹2 crore for the 2025 mega auction. LSG eventually paid ₹27 crore.

Highest and lowest base price categories

For the IPL 2025 mega auction, capped players chose from these tiers: ₹75 lakh, ₹1 crore, ₹1.25 crore, ₹1.50 crore, and ₹2 crore. Uncapped Indians went from ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh.

There's no upper limit on the final price. The base just determines where bidding starts.

Can players change their base price?

No. Once submitted, it's locked in. Players who go unsold can, in some cases, register at a different base price for the next auction cycle. But mid-auction changes aren't allowed.

 

How does IPL bidding work?

How franchises compete for players

The room uses electronic bidding paddles. When the auctioneer calls a player and announces the base price, interested franchises raise their paddles simultaneously. The auctioneer then escalates, and teams either hold or drop out.

It's an open ascending-price auction. Everyone can see who's bidding and at what level. That transparency makes it both tense and tactical. Teams can bluff, drive up prices to drain a rival's purse, or drop out strategically to preserve budget for a player coming later.

Minimum bid increments explained

The BCCI sets minimum increments that rise as the price climbs. At lower price points (under ₹1 crore), increments are smaller. As bids cross ₹5 crore, ₹10 crore, and beyond, the jumps get larger. This keeps the room moving and prevents teams from dragging out high-value bidding with ₹1 lakh steps.

What happens if two teams want the same player?

They keep bidding until one drops. The auctioneer manages the pace, and there's no time limit per bid. A franchise can stay in as long as their purse allows. At the 2025 mega auction, 4 teams fought for Rishabh Pant before LSG held firm at ₹27 crore.

 

You Can Also Check Out How BCCI Earns Money From IPL

 

What is the IPL auction purse?

The auction purse is the total budget each franchise gets to spend at the auction. It's fixed by the IPL Governing Council before each cycle.

How much money does each team get?

For the 2025-2027 cycle, the base purse was set at ₹120 crore per franchise for the mega auction. Teams that retained players had those contract values deducted before entering the auction room.

Going into the IPL 2026 mini auction, purses varied heavily based on how many players each team retained and released:

Source: IPL official data via ESPNcricinfo and NewsBytesApp. Combined purse across all 10 teams: ₹237.55 crore.

How purse management affects strategy

Every bid is a constraint on everything that follows. Teams entering with ₹64 crore (KKR in 2026) can chase 2-3 marquee names and still have budget for depth. Teams with ₹11 crore (Punjab Kings in 2026) have to be surgical, targeting specific roles at specific price points and hoping competitors aren't interested.

That's why auction order matters. A team with a big purse might drive up the price on a player they don't really want, just to exhaust a rival before a player they do want comes up 3 sets later.

What happens when a team runs out of money?

They can't bid. Simple as that. A franchise's paddle goes down and stays down the moment their purse hits zero. MI entered the 2026 mini auction with just ₹2.75 crore, meaning they could realistically add 1-2 cheap players, nothing more.

 

What happens to unsold players?

Can unsold players return later?

Yes. Players who receive no bids in their initial set aren't gone forever. The auction has an accelerated round at the end where franchises can request unsold players be brought back.

Accelerated auction explained

After the main sets are done, franchises submit shortlists of unsold players they want reconsidered. Those players go through another quick round of bidding. The accelerated round often produces bargain buys since teams are working with smaller remaining purses and the pressure is lower.

At the IPL 2026 auction, Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw both went unsold initially. Both found teams in the accelerated round.

Replacement players during the season

If a player gets injured or withdraws after being bought, the affected franchise can apply to bring in a replacement. The replacement's salary can't exceed the departed player's contract value. The BCCI and the IPL Governing Council approve these substitutions.

 

What is the difference between a mega auction and a mini auction?

IPL mega auction explained

A mega auction happens roughly every 3 years. Before it, all franchises release most of their squad, retaining a capped number of players (6 for the 2025 cycle). The entire player market is then opened up.

The 2025 mega auction in Jeddah was the biggest in IPL history: 577 players across 2 days, with teams building almost from scratch using ₹120 crore purses.

IPL mini auction explained

Mini auctions happen in the years between mega auctions. Teams retain their existing squads and only fill specific gaps. The player pool is smaller, the spending is lower, and the whole thing typically finishes in a day.

The IPL 2026 mini auction in Abu Dhabi had 77 players sold from a shortlist of 369, with a combined franchise spend of ₹237.55 crore.

Why mega auctions change team squads

Mega auctions can completely dismantle dynasties. RCB's 2025 rebuild is a good example: they went from a squad that had been largely static for years to a near full restructure, and won the IPL 2025 title with it.

Teams that don't plan their retention strategy carefully can enter a mega auction with a bloated, aged core and walk out worse than they started.

 

Can a player refuse an IPL contract?

What happens after a successful bid?

Technically, a player's registration for the auction implies consent to be sold. Once the hammer falls, the contract is binding in principle. The player is assigned to that franchise for the season.

Rules around withdrawals and availability

Players who withdraw after being sold face serious consequences. The IPL introduced a ban rule specifically to stop overseas players from registering, getting sold at high prices, and then pulling out. Any player who does this faces a ban from future IPL participation. The BCCI has the authority to blacklist repeat offenders.

Genuine injuries are handled differently. A team can apply for a replacement, and the player isn't penalised for a medically verified withdrawal. But choosing to make yourself unavailable after taking a contract is treated as a breach.

 

How do IPL teams decide which players to buy?

Role of scouts and data analysts

Every major franchise now runs a proper analytics department. Teams track metrics like bowling economy in the powerplay and death overs, batting strike rates in specific match phases, fielding efficiency, and performance under pressure.

CSK under Stephen Fleming built a reputation for prioritising experience and character. SRH under their 2024 leadership famously targeted aggressive batting and high strike rates above almost everything else.

Team requirements and squad balance

Franchises enter each auction with a list of specific gaps. "We need a left-arm pacer who can bowl the death." "We're short a finisher who bats at 7-8." "We need an overseas spinner."

The squad rules enforce some of this balance. Each team needs at least 18 players, can hold up to 25, and can include at most 8 overseas players. Only 4 can play in any game. So an overseas all-rounder who can bat and bowl is more valuable than a specialist who does one thing.

Budget planning and auction strategy

Good auction rooms have pre-set price limits for every target. "We'll go to ₹15 crore for Player A. Above that, we pivot to Player B." Teams that deviate from this in the heat of bidding wars often overspend on one player and blow their squad balance.

Purse allocation matters. Teams typically divide their budget mentally: 60-70% for 2-3 impact players, the rest for depth and specialist fillers. A team that spends ₹30 crore on a single player and enters the accelerated round with ₹3 crore left usually regrets it.

 

Biggest IPL auction records

Most expensive IPL player ever

Rishabh Pant holds the record. Lucknow Super Giants paid ₹27 crore for the wicketkeeper-batter at the 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. Shreyas Iyer held the record briefly at ₹26.75 crore before Pant's bid landed moments later.

Highest bids in IPL history

A few standouts from across IPL auction history:

• Rishabh Pant: ₹27 crore (LSG, 2025)

• Shreyas Iyer: ₹26.75 crore (Punjab Kings, 2025)

• Cameron Green: ₹25.20 crore (KKR, 2026) — most expensive overseas player ever

• Venkatesh Iyer: ₹23.75 crore (KKR, 2025)

• Mitchell Starc: ₹24.75 crore (KKR, 2024) — previous overseas record

• Yuzvendra Chahal: ₹18 crore (Punjab Kings, 2025) — highest for an Indian spinner

Most surprising auction purchases

A few buys that genuinely caught the room off guard:

Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma (IPL 2026, CSK): Both uncapped Indian players started at ₹30 lakh. CSK paid ₹14.20 crore each. That's 47x the base price, for players with no IPL caps.

Auqib Nabi (IPL 2026): A 29-year-old J&K pacer with zero IPL experience earned ₹8.40 crore in one afternoon.

T Natarajan (IPL 2017): Went for ₹3 crore from a ₹30 lakh base. Most people outside Tamil Nadu hadn't heard of him. He ended up bowling for India 3 years later.

 

Final summary – understanding the IPL auction in simple terms

The IPL auction isn't just an administrative process. It's where squads are built and dismantled, where unknown players become millionaires in 90 seconds, and where every franchise's entire season strategy either clicks into place or falls apart.

 

 

FAQs

How does the IPL auction work?

Players register with a base price via their national board. The BCCI shortlists them and presents them to franchises in a live bidding event. Teams bid against each other, the highest bidder wins, and the winning amount is deducted from that team's purse. Unsold players can return in an accelerated round.

Who decides a player's base price?

The player does. They choose from a set of BCCI-approved tiers before the auction. The BCCI doesn't assign prices. Players can set their price high to signal value or low to attract more interest.

What happens if no team bids for a player?

They're declared unsold. They don't join any franchise for that season unless they're brought back in the accelerated round. If they go unsold there too, they can register again for the next auction.

Can any cricketer enter the IPL auction?

Any cricketer registered with a national board can apply. The BCCI then shortlists from the applicants based on franchise interest and other factors. Not everyone who applies makes the shortlist.

What is the IPL auction purse?

It's the fixed budget each franchise gets to spend. For the 2025-2027 cycle, the base purse was ₹120 crore per team. Retentions get deducted before the auction opens, so each team enters with a different available amount.

What is the difference between a mega auction and a mini auction?

A mega auction happens every 3 years. Teams release most of their squad and rebuild almost from scratch. A mini auction fills gaps in the years between mega auctions. The pool is smaller, the spending is lower, and it usually finishes in a day.

Can a player reject an IPL contract after being sold?

Not without consequences. Withdrawing after being sold (without medical cause) triggers a ban from future IPL participation. The BCCI introduced this rule specifically to stop players from gaming the system by registering, collecting interest, and then backing out.