IPL 2022: Auction to take place on February 12, 13
The schedule and venue for the Indian Premier League (IPL) players' mega auction have been reportedly confirmed. According to a report in Cricbuzz, the IPL auction is scheduled to be held on February 12 and 13. The mega-event will take place in Bengaluru. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to make an official announcement about the same.
Why does it matter?
India's domestic T20 league - IPL - is expected to get bigger this time around with the addition of two new teams in Ahmedabad and Lucknow. With the mega auction, BCCI are giving the two teams an opportunity to build their squad from the scratch before entering the tournament. It will also be a golden opportunity for other teams to strengthen their core squad.
Auction date clashing with an international match
The first day of the auction is overlapping with an international fixture. On Feb 12, Team India will be up against West Indies in the third and last ODI match. Despite the clash, BCCI is confident that the ODI match will not have any impact on the auction. The Indian cricket board has assured the teams about the same as well.
Last date to send the names for auction
It has also been learned that this time around over 1,000 players are expected to enroll themselves in the auction pool. With ten teams in the mix, around 250 players are expected to go under the hammer. BCCI had also requested the international boards and states association to send out the list of names of players for the mega event by January 17.
Ten teams in the fray
Unlike the previous event, this time ten teams will get involved in the bidding war to buy the boldest and brightest talents for their respective franchises for the next edition of the league. The teams are - Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and two new sides - Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
Lucknow, Ahmedabad can pick three players from pool before auction
In order to make the playing field equal, the two new IPL teams Lucknow and Ahmedabad have been given Rs. 33 crore budget to draft three players in their squad before the mega auction. The two teams can pick two India (capped or uncapped) and overseas players. Meanwhile, the remaining eight teams have already retained their preferred players.
IPL 2022: Players retention list
CSK: Ravindra Jadeja (Rs. 16 crore), MS Dhoni (Rs. 12 crore), Moeen Ali (Rs. 8 crore), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs. 6 crore) DC: Rishabh Pant (Rs. 16 crore), Axar Patel (Rs. 9 crore), Prithvi Shaw (Rs. 7.5 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.5 crore) KKR: Andre Russell (Rs. 12 crore), Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 8 crore), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs. 8 crore), Sunil Narine (Rs. 6 crore).
IPL 2022: Players retention list
MI: Rohit (16 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (8 crore), Kieron Pollard (6 crore) PBKS: Mayank Agarwal (14 crore), Arshdeep Singh (4 crore) RR: Sanju Samson (14 crore), Jos Buttler (10 crore), Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 crore) RCB: Virat Kohli (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (11 crore), Mohammed Siraj (7 crore) SRH: Kane Williamson (14 crore), Umran Malik (4 crore) Abdul Samad (4 crore)
Players to watch out for in the auction
Several stars like David Warner, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rashid Khan, R Ashwin, and Shikhar Dhawan have been released by their respective teams and can start a bidding war during the auction. Given that, they don't get drafted by Lucknow and Ahmedabad first. The likes of Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina, and Eoin Morgan have also been released and could attract substantial bidding.
