Two contradictory reports regarding the date and venue of the auction have emerged.© BCCI
All 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) are set to finalise their list of player retentions. Reports have claimed that October 31st is the last day to submit the players retention list, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. According to reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to host the IPL mega auction in the last week of November. However, the BCCI is yet to make a formal announcement, as far as the date and venue are concerned.
Having said that, two contradictory reports regarding the date and venue of the auction have emerged.
While Times of India (TOI) reported that the auction will take place on November 30. The IPL 2024 auction was held in Dubai last year, and the report claims "there is a possibility of the Indian cricket board hosting it in Dubai" once again.
On the contrary, Sportstar have reported that the auction will be held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and it will be a two-day affair (November 24 and 25).
Initially, London and Singapore were considered as venues to host the auction. However, Riyadh is now leading the race because of a favourable time zone.
"The Board and the IPL officials are in the 'final stages' of finalising the venue that can accommodate the entire entourage - including delegations from the 10 franchises and a large crew from Jio and Disney Star - over three days," Sportstar reported.
"Though Saudi Arabia is considered 'expensive' as compared to Dubai, the Board believes that the IPL being the most popular cricket league in the world, it's important to tap into new markets and allow it to grow in terms of creating a newer fan base," he added.
The IPL governing council announced the player retention rules last month. The 10 IPL franchises will be allowed to retain a maximum of six players from their previous squads, including usage Right To Match (RTM) card at the auction that will cost Rs 75 crore out of an enhanced team purse of Rs 120 crore, the IPL governing council decided on Saturday.
In a significant move, the BCCI also decided that all those India players, who haven't played any international game for at least five calendar years will deemed "uncapped players".
The IPL franchises can now retain 6 players from their existing squad, either via retention or by using the RTM option.
It is the discretion of the franchise to choose its combination for Retentions and RTMs. The 6 retention/RTMs can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian & Overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players.