IPL 2023 Auction: Five guidelines that franchises and fans must know ahead of bidding war in Kochi

The highly-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) Auction has finally arrived as the fate of 405 players will be decided on December 23 (Friday). A total of 405 players will go under the hammer in the mini-auction. From a total of 991 players who had submitted their names for the auction, 369 players were shortlisted by the 10 franchises. Later, the list had 36 additions at the request of the franchises. 
The full list of 405 players includes 273 Indians and 132 overseas players. Only four players are from associate nations. Out of the list of Indian players, 119 are capped players whereas 282 are uncapped.
The franchises have a maximum of 87 slots to fill in their squads out of which 30 will be overseas picks. 
The IPL 2023 Auction will be different in several aspects from the bidding wars held in the past. We take a closer look at the must-know IPL 2023 Auction rules for franchises and fans for the auction.

1. Tie-break rule: In the IPL 2023 Auction, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come up with a Tiebreak rule, which will only be applicable if two franchises make a similar bid for a player and don't have requisite funds available to outright secure the services of the player. In that case, the two franchises locked in the bidding war will make a 'Silent Written Bid'. 

2. Additional purse: All 10 IPL franchises have been allocated an additional Rs 5 crore ahead of the mini-auction apart from their remaining purse.

3. RTM: For the IPL 2023 Auction, franchises won't have the luxury of using the Right To Match (RTM) card.

4. Indian and overseas players: A franchise can have no less than 17 Indian players in their squad. Similarly, a franchise can accommodate no more than 25 domestic talents in their squad. When it comes to overseas players, a franchise can only fork out money for not more than eight cricketers.

5. 75% spending: Every franchise must spend at least 75% of its total purse. For example, if a franchise has a total purse of Rs 10 crore, it has to spend Rs 7.50 crore in the auction.