The mega auction for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League is likely to take place in Saudi Arabia later this year. According to a report in Cricbuzz on Saturday (October 5), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering hosting the two-day mega auction either in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh or Jeddah. However, an official call on the venue is yet to be taken. UAE’s Dubai, which hosted the IPL 2024 auction, is also in the mix but is currently not the preferred choice.
As per the available information, the IPL 2025 mega auction is expected to take place in the last week of November.
“Finding a suitable venue or hotel has proven challenging for the BCCI so far. Although pricing shouldn’t be a significant factor for the franchise owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the richest leagues in the world, and the BCCI, arguably the richest sports body, identifying a venue in Saudi Arabia has been particularly difficult. The costs in Saudi Arabia are reportedly much higher than in Dubai, where the previous auction, in December 2023, was held,” the Cricbuzz report read.
“As previously reported, London was initially shortlisted, but the BCCI decided against holding the auction in the UK due to the cold weather at this time of year. The BCCI and IPL officials are now looking for a place which can host the auction for two days and accommodate the entire IPL entourage, including the 10 franchise delegations and a large entourage involving two broadcasters—Jio and Disney Star,” it added.
The IPL 2024 auction was organised at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on December 19, 2024, and it won’t be a surprise if the 2025 mega-auction is staged in Saudi Arabia.
The BCCI announced the IPL 2025 retention rules last month, and according to that, all 10 franchises are allowed to retain as many as six players from the IPL 2024 squad. However, of those six players, one has to be an uncapped Indian cricketer. Also, the news retention rules state that any Indian cricketer who has not played international cricket for over five years will also be classified as ‘uncapped’ and retained for a price of Rs 4 crore.
Comments
0 comment