The IPL auction is the event where the 10 franchises buy players for their squads using a fixed budget called the purse. Before a big auction, teams can retain some players, and the money they pay those players is taken out of the purse. Whatever is left is what each team can spend when the bidding starts.
Every December or November, the IPL auction becomes one of the most discussed sports events in India, even though not a single ball is bowled. Fans track every bid, every surprise buy and every big name who goes unsold. Here is a plain explanation of how the auction works, using the rules the BCCI set for the 2025 to 2027 cycle.
Mega auction vs mini auction
The IPL runs in cycles of roughly three years. At the start of a cycle, there is a mega auction, where teams release most of their players and rebuild almost from scratch. The last mega auction was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November 2024, ahead of IPL 2025.
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In the years between, there are mini auctions. Teams keep most of their squad and only fill a few gaps. The IPL 2026 mini auction was held in Abu Dhabi on 16 December 2025, with 77 slots to fill, including 31 for overseas players, according to reports in The Statesman.
What is the auction purse?
The purse is the total amount a team is allowed to spend on its players for a season. For the 2025 mega auction, the BCCI set the purse at Rs 120 crore per team, as reported by Business Standard and confirmed in auction FAQs published by franchises such as Mumbai Indians.
The purse is not fresh money given at every auction. It covers the whole squad. So if a team has already committed a large amount to retained players, it walks into the auction with much less to spend. This is why the remaining purse figure is watched so closely before every auction.
How retention works
Before the 2025 mega auction, each team could keep up to six players from its previous squad. Of these, a maximum of five could be capped players (Indian or overseas) and a maximum of two could be uncapped players.
Retaining a player has a fixed cost that is deducted from the purse. The slabs below were reported by Business Standard and listed in the Mumbai Indians FAQ.
| Retained player | Amount deducted from purse |
|---|---|
| 1st capped player | Rs 18 crore |
| 2nd capped player | Rs 14 crore |
| 3rd capped player | Rs 11 crore |
| 4th capped player | Rs 18 crore |
| 5th capped player | Rs 14 crore |
| Each uncapped player | Rs 4 crore |
A team can pay a retained player more than the slab amount if it wants to, but the slab is the minimum that gets deducted. A team that retained five capped players and one uncapped player would have used Rs 79 crore, leaving Rs 41 crore for the auction.
An Indian player who has not played international cricket or held a BCCI central contract in the previous five years is treated as uncapped for retention. This rule allowed Chennai Super Kings to retain MS Dhoni as an uncapped player.
What is the Right to Match (RTM) card?
The RTM card lets a team bring back one of its former players during the auction without having retained him earlier. When that player is sold, the old team can use the RTM to match the final bid and take the player at that price.
In the 2025 rules, the BCCI added a twist. Once the old team signals that it will use the RTM, the team that made the highest bid gets one last chance to raise its offer. The old team must then match this new, higher figure to keep the player. Retentions and RTMs together cannot cross six players, so a team that retained all six had no RTM card left.
How the bidding actually works
Players register for the auction with a base price, which is the lowest amount at which they can be sold. The BCCI then prepares a shortlist and groups players into sets, such as batters, bowlers, all-rounders and wicketkeepers, with capped and uncapped players in separate sets.
An auctioneer calls each name, and teams raise paddles to bid. The bid goes up in fixed steps, and the player goes to the last team standing when no one raises further. If no team bids even the base price, the player is unsold. Unsold players can come back later in an accelerated round if teams ask for them.
Every team has to stay within its purse and fill a squad of 18 to 25 players, with not more than eight overseas players. This is why teams with large purses but many empty slots often hold back early and spend late.
The overseas player salary cap
One of the most talked about rules of this cycle is the cap on what overseas players can earn in a mini auction. A team can bid any amount, but the player’s actual salary is capped at the highest retention slab, which is Rs 18 crore.
This rule came into play at the IPL 2026 auction. Kolkata Knight Riders bought Australian all-rounder Cameron Green for Rs 25.20 crore, the highest price ever paid for an overseas player at an IPL auction. As reported by Business Today, Green’s salary is Rs 18 crore, while the extra Rs 7.20 crore goes to a BCCI player welfare fund. KKR’s purse is still reduced by the full Rs 25.20 crore.
The BCCI introduced this rule to discourage overseas players from skipping mega auctions and entering cheaper mini auctions, where teams with spare money sometimes overpay. Overseas players also have to register for the mega auction to be eligible for the following mini auction.
Record buys at recent auctions
The highest price in IPL auction history is Rs 27 crore, paid by Lucknow Super Giants for Rishabh Pant at the 2025 mega auction. At the same auction, Punjab Kings bought Shreyas Iyer for Rs 26.75 crore. Before that, Mitchell Starc had set a record of Rs 24.75 crore when KKR bought him at the 2024 auction.
Big prices make headlines, but they also show how teams think. A player who fills a rare role, such as a fast-bowling all-rounder or a wicketkeeper who can captain, often draws much higher bids than his base price.
Why fans care so much
For many viewers, the auction is the start of the IPL season. It decides which stars play for their city, which young players get a chance and how balanced each squad looks. It also mixes sport with money, which makes it easy to discuss on social media and at work. You can read more trending sports and pop culture explainers in our Buzz section, and money explainers in Finance.
Rules for the next mega auction, expected after the 2027 season, may change. The BCCI usually announces fresh player regulations a few months before each mega auction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IPL purse for each team?
For the 2025 to 2027 cycle, each team’s auction purse was set at Rs 120 crore for the 2025 mega auction. Salaries of retained players are deducted from this amount.
Why did Cameron Green get only Rs 18 crore?
Under the current rules, an overseas player’s salary from a mini auction is capped at Rs 18 crore. The rest of the bid, Rs 7.20 crore in his case, goes to a BCCI player welfare fund.
Who is the most expensive player in IPL auction history?
Rishabh Pant, bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore at the 2025 mega auction, holds the record.
What happens to unsold players?
Unsold players can be brought back in an accelerated round if franchises request them. Teams can also sign unsold players later as injury or availability replacements.
Sources: Business Standard, Mumbai Indians, Business Today, The Statesman.
