Mega Auctions Preview for TATA IPL 2025 - Part 1

It is one of the biggest events in the international sporting calendar which attracts the mighty, powerful, rich and glamorous from across the world and brings them, literally, to the table.

The IPL Mega Auctions are set to take place in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on the 24^th and 25^th of November and will decide the fate of 204 players from a total of 1574 who have registered for the grand event.

In part 1 of our Preview, we look at the new rules and regulations around the auctions and how each team is stacked ahead of the mega event in Jeddah. We also go back in history and look at some of the biggest buys from previous mega auctions. You can also check out the Cricket betting offers on the chance of all the franchise teams and player prospects

What is a mega auction?

A mega auction is held approximately every three years in which IPL franchises are given a chance to rebuild their teams from scratch. Well almost! They are allowed to retain a maximum of 6 players but the rest of the squad needs to be picked at the two days of the auction.

There have been a total of four mega auctions previously after the inaugural season in 2008 – in 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2022. The last mega auction in 2022 saw the addition of two new franchises to the IPL – the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – increasing the number of teams participating from eight to 10, completely changing the dynamics and strategy of bidding at the auctions.

Most expensive players at Mega Auctions

Ishan Kishan was the most expensive player at the 2022 mega auction and was bought by Mumbai Indians for a sum of INR 15.25 crore. Liam Livingstone was the most expensive overseas player and was purchased by Punjab Kings for a sum of INR 11.5 crore.

Gautam Gambhir, the current Head Coach of the Indian Men’s team, was interestingly, the most expensive buy at the 2011 mega auction and was purchased by Knight Riders for INR 11.04 crore. Yuvraj Singh was the costliest at the 2014 auctions and was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 14 crore. Rajasthan Royals fetched Ben Stokes for INR 12.5 crore in 2018 making him the most sought-after player of that auction.

Overall though, it was Mitchell Starc, who broke all records and became the most expensive player in IPL Auction history when he was bought by KKR for a whopping INR 24.75 crore at the auction in 2024 – however, this was a mini-auction and not a mega auction!

How many Indian and overseas players at the 2024 mega auction?

There are a total of 1165 Indians in the long list of players who have registered for the auction. South Africa is the next highest represented country with 91 players and is followed by Australia (76) and England (52). Interestingly, there is one player from Italy too – Thomas Jack Draca! Draca is a right-arm medium-fast bowler who made a name for himself in the 2024 Global T20 in Canada. He is also a part of the MIE squad for the upcoming season of the ILT20 in the UAE in January.

Which players have the most expensive base price at the auction?

A total of 23 Indian players have a base price of INR 2 crore (in the top category) at the auction. Some of the big Indian names include Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.

Some of the big overseas players in the INR 2 crore list are Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Matt Henry, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and Jonny Bairstow.

James Anderson, who retired from Test cricket earlier this year, has registered himself at a base price of INR 1.25 crore. Anderson has never played in the IPL. New Zealand star, Rachin Ravindra is set at a base price of INR 1.5 crore. Interestingly, two current England superstars – Ben Stokes and Joe Root are not a part of the auction.

What is the retention rule and the RTM rule at the auction?

Each team was allowed to retain a maximum of 6 players ahead of the auction or using the RTM (Right To Match) card at the end of the auction in November. A maximum of five of these players could be capped and a maximum of two could be uncapped.

RTM works like this. If a player has been bought by another franchise during the mega auction, the franchise to which he belonged in IPL 2024 can match the bid at the end of the auction. The franchise to which the player was sold at the mega auction then gets a chance to increase their bid to whatever amount they want. The previous franchise can buy back the player by matching the increased bid.

List of retained players

Teams which have traditionally done well in the IPL or have regularly made it to the playoffs/finals in the last few seasons (MI, CSK, KKR, SRH) have retained most of their core (at least 5 players). KKR and RR are the only franchises to have retained six players – the maximum allowed ahead of the mega auction.

On the other hand, it is not surprising to see a franchise like Punjab Kings who has not made it to the playoffs since 2014 and finished in the bottom 3 in six of the last seven seasons, to have retained just two players. They would aim for a complete overhaul of the squad and strategy in the mega auction.

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: 5
Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (INR 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore), Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 1

Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Players retained: 5
Heinrich Klaasen (INR 23 crore), Pat Cummins (INR 18 crore), Abhishek Sharma (INR 14 crore), Travis Head (INR 14 crore), Nitish Kumar Reddy (INR 6 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 1

Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player

Chennai Super Kings

Players retained: 5
Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 crore), Shivam Dube (INR 12 crore), MS Dhoni (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 1

Players eligible for RTM: One capped or uncapped player

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Players retained: 3
Virat Kohli (INR 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (INR 11 crore), Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 3

Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player and two capped players, or three capped players

Delhi Capitals

Players retained: 4
Axar Patel (INR 16.50 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 crore), Abishek Porel (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 2

Players eligible for RTM: One uncapped player and one capped player, or two capped players

Kolkata Knight Riders

Players retained: 6
Rinku Singh (INR 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (INR 12 crore), Sunil Narine (INR 12 crore), Andre Russell (INR 12 crore), Harshit Rana (INR 4 crore), Ramandeep Singh (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: None

Players eligible for RTM: None

Rajasthan Royals

Players retained: 6
Sanju Samson (INR 18 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (INR 18 crore), Riyan Parag (INR 14 crore), Dhruv Jurel (INR 14 crore), Shimron Hetmyer (INR 11 crore), Sandeep Sharma (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: None

Players eligible for RTM: None

Gujarat Titans

Players retained: 5
Rashid Khan (INR 18 crore), Shubman Gill (INR 16.50 crore), Sai Sudharsan (INR 8.50 crore), Rahul Tewatia (INR 4 crore), Shahrukh Khan (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: One

Players eligible for RTM: One capped player

Lucknow Super Giants

Players retained: 5
Nicholas Pooran (INR 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (INR 11 crore) Mayank Yadav (INR 11 crore), Mohsin Khan (INR 4 crore), Ayush Badoni (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 1

Players eligible for RTM: One capped player

Punjab Kings

Players retained: 2
Shashank Singh (INR 5.5 crore), Prabhsimran Singh (INR 4 crore)

Right-to-match (RTM) options at auction: 4

Players eligible for RTM: Four capped players

Surprise omissions – big players not retained ahead of mega auction

1. Rishabh Pant – Delhi Capitals
Pant was DC’s highest scorer last season and has the highest run aggregate for the franchise ever in the IPL.

2. KL Rahul – Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul is the leading run-getter for LSG in the IPL and the highest scorer in the IPL since 2017.

3. Mitchell Starc – Kolkata Knight Riders
Starc was the Player of the match in the Qualifier 1 and Final in IPL 2024.

4. Arshdeep Singh – Punjab Kings
Arshdeep Singh was the leading wicket-taker for PBKS since 2019.

5. Jos Buttler – Rajasthan Royals
Jos Buttler has the second-most number of hundreds in IPL history – all for the Royals!

6. Glenn Maxwell – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Maxwell failed in 2024 but had an aggregate of 400 runs at a strike rate of 183.5 in IPL 2023 for RCB.

What is the purse available to each team and how many players can be bought at the auction?

Each team has a budget of INR 120 crore for the mega auction but a part of it has already been spent in player retentions ahead of the event in Jeddah. Thus, here is a team-wise breakdown of the purse remaining:
Punjab Kings – INR 110.5 crore
Royal Challengers Bengaluru – INR 83 crore
Delhi Capitals – INR 73 crore
Gujarat Titans – INR 69 crore
Lucknow Super Giants – INR 69 crore
Chennai Super Kings – INR 55 crore
Kolkata Knight Riders – INR 51 crore
Mumbai Indians – INR 45 crore
Sunrisers Hyderabad – INR 45 crore
Rajasthan Royals – INR 41 crore


Each franchise has to buy a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players to complete their squad. 46 players have already been retained ahead of the auction so this means that a total of 204 slots need to be filled at the event in Jeddah. Each franchise can have a maximum of 8 overseas players so there are 70 positions for overseas players at the mega auction.

CSK: 20 slots (7 overseas)

RCB: 22 slots (8 overseas)

SRH: 20 slots (5 overseas)

MI: 20 slots (8 overseas)

DC: 21 slots (7 overseas)

RR: 19 slots (7 overseas)

PBKS: 23 slots (8 overseas)

KKR: 19 slots (6 overseas)

GT: 20 slots (7 overseas)

LSG: 20 slots (7 overseas)


In Part 2 of our Preview, we will look at what strategies each of the 10 IPL franchises are likely to deploy in the mega auction, which players could they aim for and who are likely to be the most sought-after buys at the auction.

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