IPL chief ends speculation about future of mega auction, takes final decision | cricket

Earlier this week, Indian Premier League (IPL) president Arun Dhumal made a big statement seemingly confirming the mega auction after the conclusion of the 2024 season. This year's season begins on March 22 with a tight clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. in Chibok, and ends on May 26.

The Mega Auctions, a signature event in the IPL calendar, are held every three years, providing franchise owners with a golden opportunity to completely revamp their team rosters. It is worth noting that the previous season witnessed a small auction held in Dubai, where Australian speedster Mitchell Starc was awarded the title of the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League in the history of the tournament.

In conversation with Sports starsDhumal spoke about the certainty of the mega auction for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League. A crucial aspect of these auctions is that teams are allowed to retain a selection of 3-4 players, while replenishing the remaining squad.

“We will have a huge auction for sure, where you can pick three or four players and then have a new team. This makes it more interesting and this format will continue,” Domal said.

“We hope that the mega auction will be as big and good as we did previously given the new talent coming from outside India and other countries. Teams like Afghanistan have also benefited because they have been able to showcase their talent,” Dhumal added.

Two new franchises were added ahead of last year's mega auction, with Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants making their debuts in the 2022 season. The Giants went on to win the title in their IPL debut.

The BCCI has released the schedule for only the first two weeks of the tournament this year, due to the Lok Sabha elections, which are likely to be scheduled in May later this year. A final decision on the remaining timetable will be made once the Election Commission confirms the nationwide polling deadlines.

Additionally, the tournament ends on May 26 to allow players time to prepare for the T20 World Cup; India's opening match of the World Cup will be played on June 5 against Ireland.

“The challenge this time is that we are starting with the T20 World Cup in the first week of June and we were planning to wrap up the tournament by May 25 or 26 as the team will have to travel to the US and that is different.” “Quite the grounds,” Dumal said.

He added: “For the first time, the tournament will be held there, which is something new, so the players need to be there early to conduct some kind of training matches before the tournament.”