TATA IPL Auction: How the franchises of IPL select their players, Complete Detail Inside

The IPL season is back! We all know IPL is not just a series game for Indian cricket fans but also an emotion. It is recognized as one of the best series in cricket all over the world. Australian cricketer David Warner once said in an interview that IPL is the best tournament in the world. We are able to see the passion of a cricketer in it and also how they enjoy the game.
We are familiar with the procedure on the field of IPL but do you all know what actually happens at the back stage. Don’t you worry today we will take you on the roller coaster ride of the ipl pre- production journey and will let you know how team players are selected and what the procedure works.
The preparation of IPL starts 2-3 months before. The first thing that happens is selection of players who will be put up for auction. This year out of 1214 players 590 players were selected. In which 228 are capped players and 355 are uncapped players and 7 belong to unassociated nations. This year to make the IPL more interesting two more teams are added.

But what are these auctions for and how do they work?

It is an auction to decide which player plays for which team. The ten franchises of different states bid for the players in the auction with the pre-decided base price of the capped players and uncapped players. Each franchise participating in the auction can bid for any player they want to buy, regardless of whether they expressed interest in that player when they sent the BCCI their lists of players they are interested in before the auction. Usually, franchises have a list of players they want to buy, along with a plan B, C, or D. This means if a team fails to acquire a certain player, they will move on to their second option, then their third, and so on.
The auctioneer announces the name of the player, what he does, which country he’s from, and what his base price is, just like any other auction. Following this, the franchises can bid on the player starting at his base price. So, for example, if a player’s base price is Rs 2 Crore, the first bid will be for Rs 2 Crore and then it will increase. A player cannot be bought for less than his base price.
The auctioneer ends the bidding at the last price bid once a bid cannot be bettered. If no one else is interested in bidding for the player going under the hammer then the auctioneer will end the bidding. If the auctioneer calls out thrice, all the franchises (going once, going twice, going thrice – sold) are notified that the bidding will be ending. In the case of a tie, the team with the highest bid wins and adds the player to its roster.

Now you have heard the term base price, let me tell you how it’s decided

An auction’s base price is the minimum amount that must be bid on a player. The player sets this price before the auction and submits it along with an NOC from his parent board to show that the Board has cleared him to participate in the IPL. The high profile Indian and foreign players usually set their base prices high because they are confident that they will attract big bids, while the lesser known players usually choose the lower base price brackets. Before setting a base price, players must consider their previous performances, their general popularity, their social media following, etc. Those who are not sure if they will find a buyer should not set their base price too low or too high.

There are times when the shortlisted players went unsold and this can be the worst of their situation . They remain unsold as no team wants to bid for them.

Is it possible to bring back players unsold after one round?

It is possible to bring back unsold players. Teams continue to do this until their rosters are full. At the end of the auction, if teams show an interest, unsold players are also brought back as part of the accelerated bidding process.

Accelerated bidding: what is it?

BCCI receives a list of players the franchises are interested in from the unsold players list, and these players are brought back into the auction if the teams are interested in them. In this situation, the bidding happens faster, with the auctioneer going through the names and teams very quickly and, more often than not, picking up some players at their base price. Occasionally, there is a bidding war in this process as well. It can happen more than once.

Is it possible for unsold players to join IPL teams after the auction?

During the course of the tournament, teams can replace unavailable or injured players with unsold players.

In an IPL player auction, how many players go under the hammer?
From auction to auction, the number varies. For mini auctions, the number is extremely low. During a mega auction, which takes place after the player contracts have expired and new contracts have to be signed, the number is obviously much greater. The final list of players under the hammer is a short-list based on interest shown by teams based on the total number of players who register themselves.

But where does the amount come from?

A team’s purse is how much they can spend on building their team overall. It includes players they retain or sign before the auction and players they buy at the auction. To ensure a fair process, the amount is the same for all teams. It is worth noting that this time, with 10 teams in contention, the BCCI capped the purse at Rs 90 Crore per team. Based on how many players the 8 older teams retained and how many the 2 newer teams signed, deductions were made.
The amount spent by teams on retaining or purchasing these players is not equal to the amount deducted from the auction purse. The amount deducted depends on the number of players retained.

What is the player retention process before the auction?

During every auction, teams are given the option of retaining a fixed number of players (Indians, foreigners, and uncapped players) from their existing squad. All remaining squad members must be released before they can be included in the auction pool. In the 2022 player auction, the 8 older teams were given the option to retain a maximum of four players.

Now you know the process of auction and how it works you are surely be more interested. To be more indulge into please follow us for more updates as the auction are going to held tomorrow.