The IPL player auction is always an exciting event. Players and fans from India and across the world tune in to see which team buys which players and for how much. The most sought after players who have registered their names for the auction watch with bated breath as teams enter into bidding wars for them. Many get the news of them having been bought at the auction from teammates, friends and family.
The next edition of the IPL player auction will be a mega auction and what that means is that barring a handful of retained players and six players signed by the two new teams - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - everyone else will go back into the auction pool. It will be a two day affair spread over February 12 and 13. According to some reports this could well be the last IPL mega player auction.
The 2022 season will be the 15th season of the Indian Premier League.
Here we take a look at all the details of the 2022 edition of the IPL auction and how an IPL auction works:
IPL PLAYER AUCTION 2022 - RULES AND HOW IT WILL WORK
When will the 2022 IPL player auction be held?
The player auction this time will be held over two days, since it is a mega auction, on February 12 and 13, 2022.
Where will the 2022 IPL player auction be held?
The player auction will be held in Bengaluru.
Where can I follow the IPL player auction 2022?
You can track all the developments minute by minute on https://timesofindia.indiatimes.comon both days of the auction on our live blog, along with the latest reactions from players and team owners, what the composition of the teams is looking like, how much money is being spent by the teams and much more.
How many players registered themselves for the IPL player auction 2022?
A total of 1214 players signed up for the auction. Out of this 896 were Indian players and 318 overseas.
How many players will finally go under the hammer?
The final auction list stands at 590 players who will go under the hammer this time. Out of this there are 370 Indian players and 220 are overseas players.
Which are the two new teams in the IPL?
The two new teams which will be competing from the 2022 edition onwards are the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises.
What is the highest base price category for the players?
Rs 2 Crore is the highest base price category this time. This means that for the players in this category the bidding will start at Rs 2 Cr.
Which Indian players are in the highest base price category?
There are a total of 17 Indian players in the Rs 2 Cr base price category for this edition of the auction. These players are:
Which foreign players are in the highest base price category?
There are a total of 31 overseas player who are in the Rs 2 Cr base price. These players are:
Which are the other high base price categories after the Rs 2 Cr category? How many players are in these categories?
After the Rs 2 Cr base price there are categories for Rs 1.5Cr and Rs 1 Cr. There are 20 players with a base price of INR 1.5 crore, while 34 players have a base price of INR 1 crore. There will be other base price categories as well.
Which players were retained by the 8 older teams before the auction and which players did the two new teams sign ahead of the next auction and for how much?
What were the player retention rules ahead of the 2022 auction and how much money was deducted from the overall purse for the 10 teams?
The rules this time stated that - A team cannot retain more than 4 players. They weren't allowed to retain more than 3 Indian players and 2 overseas players. Also, a team could retain a maximum of 2 uncapped players.
For teams which retained 4 players, a sum of Rs 42 crore was deducted from their purse of Rs 90 Crore. The first choice retention cost the team Rs 16 crore, the 2nd choice player cost them Rs 12 crore. The 3rd and 4th choice players meanwhile cost them Rs 8 and 6 crores, respectively.
For teams which chose to retain three players a total of Rs 33 Crore was deducted from their purse. The first choice retention cost them Rs 15 Crore, the 2nd choice player Rs 11 Crore. The 3rd choice player meanwhile cost the team Rs 7 Crores from the auction purse
Some teams have chosen to pay their retained players more. Lucknow for instance have signed KL Rahul, their first choice pick for Rs 17 Crore.
In such cases the purse left for the auction will also be affected accordingly. The IPL retention rule states - "If the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player exceeds the relevant prescribed amount, then an amount equal to that higher League Fee shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee's Salary Cap. The guidelines further state that if the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player is less than the relevant prescribed amount, then an amount equal to the relevant prescribed amount shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee's Salary Cap."
This is the reason why Delhi Capitals have Rs 47.5 Crore left in their purse for the auction as opposed to CSK or KKR, who both have Rs 48 Crore, despite the fact that all three teams retained four players each. This was because DC chose to pay Anrich Nortje, their fourth pick Rs 6.5 Crore, which was Rs 50 lakh more than the price fixed by the BCCI at Rs 6 Crore for a fourth player retained.
Which players were signed by the 2 new teams - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - before the auction?
Lucknow - KL Rahul (India capped), Marcus Stoinis (Australia capped) & Ravi Bishnoi (India uncapped - till before the series vs West Indies).
Ahmedabad - Hardik Pandya (India capped), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) & Shubman Gill (India).
What was the total auction purse for the 10 teams this time?
Rs 90 Crore is what the total purse was, minus deductions for the players retained or signed. The difference is what the teams will have to spend in the auction this time.
How much money do the 10 teams have left for the player auction after retention and signings and how many slots are open for each team?
CSK - Rs 48 Cr
DC - Rs 47.5 Cr
KKR - Rs 48 Cr
MI - Rs 48 Cr
PK - Rs 72 Cr
RR - Rs 62 Cr
RCB - Rs 57 Cr
SRH - Rs 68 Cr
Lucknow Super Giants - Rs 59 Cr
Ahmedabad franchise - Rs 52 Cr
How many players can a franchise buy in all?
The total squad size or the maximum number of players a franchise can have on their roster is 25.
Will teams have the chance to use Right to Match cards in the 2022 auction?
No. This is not allowed in the upcoming auction since it will be unfair for the two new teams.
What is the break-up of the capped, uncapped and associate players who will finally go under the hammer at the 2022 IPL player auction?
Out of the 590 players who will go under the hammer this time, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and there will also be 7 players from Associate Nations.
What is the country-wise breakdown of the 220 overseas players who will go under the hammer for the 2022 player auction?
OVERALL IPL AUCTION RULES - HOW AN IPL AUCTION WORKS
What is an IPL player auction?
It is an auction to decide which player plays for which team. It is an open auction and all the franchises participating can bid for any player they want to buy, regardless of whether they had shown interest in that player or not when they sent in their lists of players they are interested in to the BCCI before the auction. Franchises come in with various strategies and they usually have a list of players they want to buy, along with a plan B, C or D, as needed. So if a team doesn't manage to buy a certain player they had set out to buy, they will then target their second option to fill that slot in their team, then the third and so on.
How are the players segregated into groups for the auction?
Usually the players are divided into three broad categories - Indian capped, Indian uncapped and Overseas players. The lots into which they are further divided are by what their speciality is - batsmen, fast bowlers, spinners, all-rounders and wicket-keepers.
How does an IPL player auction work?
It works like any other auction, with the auctioneer announcing the name of the player, what he does, which country he is from and what his base price is. Post this the franchises are allowed to bid for the player starting with his base price. So if a players base price is Rs 1 Crore, the first bid will be for Rs 1 Crore and then keep increasing. No player can be bought for less than his base price.
Once a bid has been reached which cannot be bettered, the auctioneer takes the call to end the bidding at the last price bid. This usually happens after the auctioneer has called out thrice to notify all the franchises (going once, going twice, going thrice - sold) that he will be ending the bidding if no one else is interested in bidding for the player going under the hammer at that time. The team with the last bid, or the winning bid, gets to buy the player and include him in their roster.
What is the base price for players and how is it decided?
The base price is the minimum amount that has to be bid for a player at an auction. This price is fixed by the player before the auction and submitted to the BCCI along with an NOC from his parent Board to show that he has been cleared by the Board to participate in the IPL. The high profile Indian and foreign capped players usually set their base prices high because they are confident that they will attract big bids, while uncapped and lesser known players usually opt for the lower base price categories. Players need to take into account their previous performances, their general popularity, social media following etc before fixing their base price. The key for those who are not sure if they will find a buyer is to not set their base price either too low or too high.
What is an unsold player?
An unsold player is someone no one wants to bid for at the auction. This is the worst possible situation for a player who has signed up for the auction and made the shortlist, especially if they remain unsold through the entire course of the auction, right till the end.
Can players unsold in one round be brought back into the auction?
Yes. The unsold players can be brought back again. This process continues till the teams have filled their full roster. Players unsold after additional rounds are also brought back at the end of the auction as part of the accelerated bidding process, if teams show an interest.
What is accelerated bidding?
A list is submitted to the BCCI which includes players the franchises are interested in from the list of unsold players and they are brought back into the auction for teams to have another go at them if they are interested. In this the bidding happens faster, with the auctioneer racing through the names and teams usually picking up a few players very quickly and more often than not for their base price. Once in a while there is a bidding war in this process also, but it's rare. This process can be repeated more than once.
Can unsold players be part of IPL teams post the auction?
Yes. Unsold players can be signed as replacements for unavailable or injured players by teams during the course of the tournament.
How many players go under the hammer in an IPL player auction?
The number varies from auction to auction. If it is a mini auction the numbers are very low. In the case of a mega auction, which takes place after the player contracts are over and new contracts are due, the number, of course, is much larger. The final list of players who go under the hammer is a short-list created depending on which players the teams have shown interest in from the total number of players who register themselves for the auction. For example, this time, out of a total of 1214 players who registered for the auction, 590 players have been shortlisted and these players will now go under the hammer on February 12 and 13.
What is a team purse and how is the amount decided?
The purse is the amount of money a team can spend overall in building their team. This includes players they retain or sign ahead of the auction and players they buy in the auction itself. The amount is the same for all teams to make it a fair process. For example, this time, with 10 teams in the fray, the BCCI capped the purse at Rs 90 Crore per team. From this deductions were made depending on how many players the 8 older teams retained and how many the 2 newer teams signed.
The amount of money spent by the teams on retaining or buying these players is not the same as the amount deducted from the auction purse. The amount deducted is a fixed amount depending on the number of players retained.
Do the players get the full amount that they are bought for?
Yes. If a player is bought for say Rs 3 Crore on a three year contract then he is entitled to Rs 3 Crore per year for the three years of the said contract. If a player wants to be released in between he can ask the franchise to do so. If a player is available for the flu season he will be paid the full amount irrespective of the number of matches he has played or been selected for. If a player has to pull out due to injury before a season begins usually the franchise doesn't have to pay the player. However, if the player is available only for a fixed number of matches in the season and not the full season he is paid on a pro-rata basis, usually along with a 10% retainer. If a team chooses to release a player before the contract is up they will have to pay the player for the full term for which he was contracted. If a player is injured during the tournament the franchise has to cover the medical expense of treatment.
How does player retention before the auction work?
Before every auction the teams are given the option of retaining a fixed number of players (Indian, foreign and uncapped) from their existing squad. The rest of the squad will have to be released to go into the auction pool. For example ahead of the 2022 player auction the 8 older teams were given the option to retain a maximum of 4 players.
Can franchises buy unsold players later?
Yes. If a player is injured or otherwise unavailable at any time, a franchise can replace him by signing a player from the unsold players list, provided they meet the requirements for the maximum number of foreign players in their squad.
How does the IPL player transfer work?
According to the rules, any player who has played, either in the playing XI or as a concussion substitute less than two matches for his parent team can be loaned out to another team for a mutually agreed upon fee. The franchise which is lending the player will get the agreed upon sum where there is no salary cap. Initially the transfer window was opened only for uncapped players, however now, capped players can also be transferred. The transferred player will play for the team he has been loaned out to and return to the parent team the next season.
The transfer window is opened at exactly the halfway stage of the tournament. For the 2022 season this will be after all the 10 teams have played 9 matches each, provided the format continues to be the same - that all teams play each other twice.
What is a Right to Match Card?
This is an option given to the franchises to buy back a player they have not managed to retain but would like to bring back into their team. The way it works is that after the highest bid amount for a player is determined at the auction, the team which previously owned the player is given the choice to match the highest bid. If they choose to use their RTM card they can then have the player. If not, the team which bid the highest for that player get to buy the player. When the RTM card is available as an option a team which owned the player previously waits for the bidding to get over before using the card to buy back the player. This is of course if the franchise wants to buy back the player. The 2022 edition of the auction however will not have the RTM card option, since that will be unfair to the two new teams which have just joined the IPL.
What is a bidding war?
A bidding war is a competitive bidding process where two or more franchises find themselves locked in a situation where they want to buy the same player. The bids come in thick and fast in such a scenario. Sometimes there are as many as four teams locked in a bidding war. As the bids go up one or two franchises stop bidding, while maybe two more continue. Usually this happens when the player being bid for is on the first choice pick list of multiple teams and they all want to buy the player, even if they have to shell out way more than what they had initially budgeted for. Franchises usually draw up plans for which players they want to aggressively bid for before the auction as part of their bidding strategies. They also usually have a good idea of which other teams could be interested in certain players, though this is not a very big possibility in a mega auction when all franchises have to build almost 90% of their teams at the auction.
How much do franchises usually spend on the star players and which players have bagged the biggest deals so far?
Usually most franchises spend about 40% of their purse if not more to build their core team. This usually includes 5-6 players who they feel they must have no matter what in their ranks. The rest of the purse is then spent in buying the remaining 20 odd players, if a squad of 25 is being built and this is usually from the list of players whose base prices are lower, while many of them are uncapped players.
So far in the history of the IPL, the highest price tag has been Rs 17 Crore. It has been commanded by two Indian cricketers. Virat Kohli was retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the last mega auction for Rs 17 Crore. However, ahead of the 2022 edition, Virat took a pay cut of Rs 2 Crore as RCB retained him for Rs 15 Crore. More recently, the new Lucknow franchise signed KL Rahul, who will be their captain, for Rs 17 Crore.
Yuvraj Singh was bought by the Delhi Capitals in 2015 for Rs 16 Crore. This was the highest price bid for a player at an IPL auction, till in the 2021 auction, Rajasthan Royals bought all-rounder Chris Morris for Rs 16.25 Crore. Incredibly, Morris base price was Rs 75 lakh.
In the 2020 IPL player auction, current Australian Test captain Pat Cummins was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 15.5 Crore.
