It’s time for another IPL auction, this time, a mini auction. Having said that, mini auctions have never failed to spring up surprises, and have produced some of the tournament’s most expensive buys. Over the years, IPL auctions have decided the fate of many players, and quite expectedly the upcoming auction in Dubai on Tuesday, will witness 333 names going under the gavel for the 77 available slots across all 10 IPL franchises.

It will be the first time in the 16 seasons of the IPL that the auction is being held out of India and also marks the first instance with a woman auctioneer carrying out the job. Mallika Sagar, who recently hosted the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai on December 9, will take over from veteran British auctioneer Hugh Edmeades.

The upcoming mini auction is the last before the IPL goes into a mega auction ahead of the 2025 season, and as such, with most franchises having already retained and traded a set of players, will be largely eyeing a few names to add balance to their respective squads.

Among the 333 shortlisted names, there are 214 Indians and 119 overseas players. Of these 116 players are capped, 215 are uncapped, and two players are from Associate nations. Out of the 77 slots that remain to be filled, 30 are reserved for overseas players.

Process of auction

The shortlisted names have been divided into 19 different sets based on their specialization — batter, all-rounder, fast bowler, spinner, wicketkeeper. In between, capped and uncapped players will alternate after a few sets.

The auction follows a World Cup, albeit the 50-over format but expectedly there will be eyes on the big performers, especially from the six-time champion unit led by Pat Cummins.

Seven of the 23 players to have registered for the highest price bracket of Rs 2 crore are the World Cup winning stars of Australia that includes Cummins, Travis Head, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Sean Abbott. Among the Indians available in the bracket are Harshal Patel, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur. Thirteen players have listed their base price at Rs 1.5 crore.

The reason most overseas players are hoping for a lucrative contract in the IPL, could also be attributed to the academic interest involved with it. With the T20 World Cup scheduled in the West Indies and the US in June, playing the IPL in conditions similar to what is expected in the Caribbean could keep them in good stead for their respective national sides in the marquee tournament.

Expected Big Buys

One such example is Starc, who eyes an IPL return after an eight-year gap, and is most likely to break the bank on D day. A multi-format left-arm fast bowler, Starc, approaching 34, would like to utilize the IPL to keep himself in shape before the T20 World Cup. A handy batter down the order, Starc’s ability to turn matches on his day with his accurate bowling could fetch him a fat pay cheque.

Besides Starc, Cummins is also likely to walk away with a whopping sum with several franchises eager to have a strike bowler in their starting XI. Having led Australia to the ODI World Cup crown, and earlier the World Test Championship title in June, Cummins’ inclusion in any side will also add a dimension to their leadership group. In the 2020 auction, Cummins fetched one of the record bids when Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore. He was again purchased by the same franchise two seasons later for Rs 7.25 crore. Cummins also is a reliable lower batter, and can be expected to play those brisk cameos like the 14-ball 50 against Mumbai Indians in the 2022 edition.

New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra, arguably the find of the 50-over World Cup with his all-round abilities, is another player who could trigger a fierce bidding war among several franchises. The 24-year-old has set his base price at Rs 50 lakh but that could rocket in quick time after an impressive World Cup campaign, in which he scored 578 runs from 10 innings at an average of 64.22. Against an Indian attack on a helpful Dharamsala wicket, the youngster belted 75 runs.

Big names missing

The English trio of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jofra Archer withdrew themselves from the IPL this year to manage their workloads. Among the Indians, Kedar Jadhav isn’t in the pruned list, while Bangladesh’s Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan are also missing.

Money matters

The trade out of skipper Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians, left Gujarat Titans with the biggest purse of Rs 38.15 crore and will have the luxury to fill eight slots (two overseas). Lucknow Super Giants have the smallest available purse of Rs 13.15 crore with which they will fill six slots (two overseas). The franchises have a combined remaining purse of Rs 262.95 crore.

Among the other teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad have Rs 34 crore in their bank, with six slots to fill of which three are overseas. Kolkata Knight Riders have the most number of vacancies, and can spend to the tune of Rs 32.70 crore to fill their 12 slots, that includes four overseas players. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will be eyeing to fill their six slots, with half of them being overseas options, from their remaining Rs 31.40 crore.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have a remaining purse of Rs 23.25 crore to buy six players, of which half are overseas options while Punjab Kings, with an available Rs 29.10 crore, has eight slots to fill, including two foreigners. Delhi Capitals have a purse of Rs 28.95 crore with which they can buy nine players, among which four are overseas players. Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians have a purse of Rs 17.75 crore with which they will fill eight remaining slots of which half are foreign players. Rajasthan Royals have Rs 14.50 crore in their purse and with that amount they have eight slots to fill which includes three overseas players.

Trading post auction?

While the player retention and release deadline is over, but going by the IPL rules, the player trading window starts a month after a season ends, and stays open up to a week before the auction date, and then continues up until a month before the start of the next season. In such a case, trading will be possible again from December 20, the day after the auction, for up to a month before the 2024 season begins.