All you need to know about 2018 IPL auctions
What's the story
578 players would be waiting to know their fate, when the 2018 IPL auction gets underway in Bengaluru on 27th and 28th of January. 360 Indian players and 218 overseas players will go under the hammer, however, just 182 cricketers will be bought across the 8 teams. Here is a complete guide to the much-awaited auctions.
Data
Where to watch the auctions?
Date: 27 and 28 January 2018, Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Bengaluru, Time: 9 AM IST, Broadcaster: Star Network and Hotstar
Heart of the team
Players retained by the teams
CSK: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja RCB: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Sarfaraz Khan MI: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah DD: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Chris Morris KKR: Andre Russell and Sunil Narine SRH: David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar RR: Steve Smith KXIP: Axar Patel
9 overseas limit
Maximum squad strength is 27
Each franchise has been handed a purse of Rs. 80 cr for the season. Most of the franchises have spent a lump sum amount to retain players. The remaining pool money can be used at the auctions to build a squad that has a maximum of 27 players out of which 9 can be foreign cricketers.
Spending wisely
Purse money available
Rajasthan Royals: Rs. 67.5 crore Kings XI Punjab: Rs. 67.5 crore Sunrisers Hyderabad: Rs. 59 crore Kolkata Knight Riders: Rs. 59 crore Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rs. 49 crore Chennai Super Kings: Rs. 47 crore Delhi Daredevils: Rs. 47 crore Mumbai Indians: Rs. 47 crore
Highest bidder wins
Auction rules and guidelines
The players, short-listed for the auctions, will be divided into groups based on their roles and then split into pots. The auctioneer announces the player's name and the teams can bid for the player starting from his base price by raising their team paddle. The player will join the franchise of the highest bidder. Bidding goes on till auctioneer says 'Player sold'.
New concept
How does the 'Right to Match' card work?
Once a team successfully bids for a player, the auctioneer will ask the previous owner, if they want to use their RTM card. If yes, he will be sold to the previous owner, for the same price as the bidder. Each franchise has a maximum of 3 RTM cards. However, if they have retained 3 players then they would only 2 RTM cards.
Base price slashed
What happens to unsold players?
A player is unsold if nobody bids for him. The unsold players will then comeback again for an auction once all the other players have gone under the hammer for the first time. Franchises can give a list of unsold players they are interested in and the bidding will start for the second time with the player's base price set at half his value.