The mega auction in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to return ahead of the 18th edition in 2025. There were several reports in 2022 about the mega auction two years ago being the last one or the concept of a two-day player auction where franchises get to retain just 3-4 players each ahead of a new season was going to be scrapped. However, that's not the case as the IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal has confirmed the development.
Speaking to Sportstar, Dhumal said, "We will have the mega auction for sure, where you get to choose three-four players and then you have a new team. That makes it more interesting and that format will continue.
"Hopefully, the mega auction will be as big and as good as we have had earlier given newer talents coming in not from India and other countries. Teams like Afghanistan have also benefitted as they could showcase their talent,” Dhumal added.
With two more teams being added a couple of years ago, there was a view that the mega auction should be done with, even some of the owners including Delhi Capitals' Parth Jindal had expressed his concerns saying that it disrupts the team culture and bonding, especially when you have to let go of players, who learned their ropes with a particular franchise and made a big name for themselves and eventually went on to play for India as well.
Ahead of the 2023 and 2024 editions, the mini-auctions took place like every year where the teams retain most of their players and release only 6-7 from the squad to plug the holes from the previous season and be in a better position to fight for the title.
The 2024 edition of the IPL is set to commence on Friday, March 22 with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opener.
