A view of the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday (November 5, 2024).

This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.

The player registration officially closed on Monday (November 4, 2024) and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.

Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.

The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.

Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.

This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.

The 10 franchises will collectively have around ₹641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.

Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.

As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of ₹558.5 crore.

Each franchise was allocated ₹120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse — ₹110.5 crore.

The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players — Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for ₹9.5 crore.

Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of ₹41 crore after retaining six players.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of ₹51 crore.

Virat Kohli has dropped elaborate hints that he would like to continue playing competitive cricket till 2027 with an aim to complete 20 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after being retained by the franchise
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Virat Kohli has dropped elaborate hints that he would like to continue playing competitive cricket till 2027 with an aim to complete 20 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after being retained by the franchise for a hefty fee of ₹21 crore.

Having entered the twilight zone of his illustrious career, speculations are rife about how long the 36-year-old would continue in top flight cricket having endured a prolonged lull for the last four years since the start of COVID-19.

Kohli has been playing for RCB ever since IPL’s inception in 2008 and is the leading run-scorer in the competition, amassing over 8,000 runs at a healthy if not spectacular strike rate of 131.97, including eight hundreds and 55 fifties.

“At the end of this cycle, it is going to be 20 years that I am going to be playing for RCB and that in itself is a very, very special feeling for me,” Kohli told ‘RCB Bold Diaries’ indicating that he aims to continue for at least another three years till 2027.

“I have never thought that I am going to play so many years for one team, but the relationship has truly become special over so many years.

He reiterated that he doesn’t see himself playing for any other franchise.

“I don’t see myself anywhere other than RCB, and I am very happy that it happened. I am very excited that I got a chance to create a strong new squad in this auction, something that we are really looking forward to as a franchise, as a team,” Kohli said in RCB’s Bold Diaries video.

He also pondered on the fact that he shared a close bond with the franchise and its fans, while his goal would be to win the elusive title.

“I am super excited as ever as everyone knows what RCB means to me. It’s been a very, very special relationship over so many years, which continues to grow stronger, and what I have experienced playing for RCB is truly special. I hope that the fans and everyone who’s connected to the franchise feel the same way,” he continued.

“I am also just looking forward to this cycle. Obviously, the goal is to win the IPL title at least once in the next cycle.” He promised that RCB will leave no stone unturned to win their elusive IPL title.

“We are going to give it our best shot as always and try to make everyone proud of the way we play our cricket. A big shout out to the fans for your unwavering support over so many years. I am really grateful, really thankful,” Kohli concluded.

Kohli will be a key to RCB’s success: Andy Flower

Meanwhile, following Kohli’s retention, RCB head coach Andy Flower admitted that while the retention itself is not surprising, he would be the key to RCB’s success in the coming years.

“Virat’s retention won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone in India. He is and will be a key to RCB’s success in the future. He was sensational last year. He was one of the leaders who propelled us into the playoffs despite a poor first half of the season,” he told JioCinema.

Besides Kohli, RCB has also retained two more players — Rajat Patidar (₹11 crore) and Yash Dayal (₹5 crore).

As a result, RCB will have a purse of ₹83 crore heading into the mega auction tentatively scheduled later this month.

The franchise would also contain three Right To Match (RTM) cards, allowing it to retain three more players (an uncapped player and two capped players, or three capped players).

Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green are among the top RCB players set to go under the hammer.

Former India and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has hinted at a potential return for IPL 2025, saying he wants to enjoy “whatever last few years of cricket” he can play, amid speculation regarding his availability for the upcoming season.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Former India and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has hinted at a potential return for IPL 2025, saying he wants to enjoy “whatever last few years of cricket” he can play, amid speculation regarding his availability for the upcoming season.

There has been speculation about Dhoni’s future since he handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the last season and began batting lower in the order.

Franchises must submit their retained player lists by October 31 ahead of the mega auction. Dhoni could be retained by CSK as an uncapped player this year due to the reintroduction of a rule allowing players retired from international cricket for five years to be classified as uncapped.

“I just want to enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I’m able to play,” a report in ESPNcricinfo quoted Dhoni as saying on Sunday at a promotional event held in Goa a couple of days ago.

“Like how during our childhood we used to go out and play at 4[pm], just enjoying the game. But when you play professional sport it becomes difficult to enjoy the game just like a game. So what I want to do is, there are emotions and commitments, but I want to enjoy the game for the next few years.” Last week, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had also said that he is hopeful of Dhoni being part of the upcoming season.

Dhoni, who underwent left knee surgery in 2023, batted lower down the order during the 2024 IPL edition. The former India skipper explained that this decision was primarily to provide game-time to aspiring Indian players ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“My thinking was simple, if others are doing their job well why do I need to come up the order,” Dhoni said.

“If you’re talking about last year (season) specifically, the T20 World Cup squad was going to be announced soon. So we have to give people who are fighting for a spot a chance.

“In our team (CSK) we had a few, (Ravindra) Jadeja was there, Shivam Dube was there so you give them an opportunity to prove themselves to get into the Indian team. There was nothing in it for me, no selection and other things. So I’m good behind [playing down the order] and my team was happy with what I was doing.”

“Love how teams are playing Test cricket now”

Dhoni has praised the result-oriented aggressive approach, often referred to as “Bazball,” that teams are adopting in Test cricket these days.

“You can give cricket any term that you want to, what we have seen is cricket has evolved. The way people are playing cricket is very different. There was a time when in ODIs something was considered a safe score, now that score is not safe in T20s too,” Dhoni said.

“You give something a term, it becomes much more interesting because you start talking about it, you start relating to it but at the end of the day what is it? It’s a way to play cricket.” Having played 90 Tests for India, Dhoni reflected on the challenges of playing on the fifth day when a match appeared headed for a draw.

“For me, the most difficult time during a Test match was the fifth day of a match which is the last day when you knew that 100% it is going to be a draw,” he said in the report.

“I would still need to keep for nearly 2.5 sessions and that was the most tiring part. You see there is no result happening, you are just going through the motions. Yes, bowlers would like to take wickets, batters will try to score runs, [but] there is no result in the game.

“You think let’s finish this and go, why do I have to be here. So I love the fact there’s change in the way teams are playing Test cricket.” Not a fan of draws, Dhoni emphasized the importance of having a result after five days of play.

“Imagine telling someone who doesn’t know much cricket we play over five days and we start at 9.30 and 4.30 is the scheduled end of play, we play till 5[pm] sometimes, and after five days we don’t get a result. That’s not nice for the game. So I love how there’s more results in today’s world.

“Even if we are playing only four days of cricket and one day gets washed out, still you get a result – that’s the beauty of Test cricket and that’s how it should stay – you want to get a result after five days and you shouldn’t have a draw.”

Each of the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises can retain up to five cricketers — with no restriction on nationality — pre-auction ahead of the 2025 edition. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced for the player auction to be held later in the year
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Each of the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises can retain up to five cricketers — with no restriction on nationality — pre-auction ahead of the 2025 edition. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced for the player auction to be held later in the year

The player retention rules were finalised by the IPL Governing Council during its meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday (September 28, 2024). Unlike in the past, though, the IPL authorities have devised “pay more to retain more” policy.

The first three retentions will see the auction purse — finalised at ₹120 crore for a team — being reduced by ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore and ₹11 crore, respectively. However, the two other additional retentions will cost more than the third.

The fourth and the fifth retention will see reduction of ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore, respectively. 

It means a team will see its auction purse reduced by a whopping ₹75 crore on five players, with only ₹45 crore in its kitty for the IPL auction.

The General Council also introduced match-fees of ₹7.5 lakh for each of the 12 players in the league stage. The compensation will be over and above the contract fees for a player. The decision was announced by BCCI secretary Jay Shah through his social media handle.