Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction is set to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This will be the second time when the auction will take place outside India, following the 2024 edition, which was hosted in Dubai. The dates of the mega auction for the cash-rich league overlap with the third and fourth days of the 1st Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 which will take place at The Optus stadium in Perth.
The IPL 2025 mega auction began with a pool of 1,574 players, which was later trimmed to 574 for the final shortlist. This list features 366 Indian players, 208 overseas players, and three players from associate nations. A total of 204 slots are up for grabs, including 70 reserved for overseas cricketers. The highest reserve price has been set at ₹2 crore, with 81 players opting to enter this elite bracket.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) will enter the auction with the biggest purse as they have just retained two uncapped players and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will enter the auction with second second-largest purse. IPL franchises have retained a total of 46 players ahead of the 2025 auction, with a combined investment of ₹558.5 crore. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and inaugural winners Rajasthan Royals have retained six players each. Five teams—Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, and Sunrisers Hyderabad—have held onto five players each. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals retained four players, Royal Challengers Bangalore kept three, and Punjab Kings opted to retain just two players.
Here are the four IPL franchises that will be on the hunt for their captains for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi-based franchise also released their captain Rishabh Pant before the mega auction as they have retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Tristan Stubbs as the capped players, along with the uncapped Abishek Porel. The franchise will look for their captain for the upcoming season of the tournament.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Bengaluru-based franchise RCB have released their captain Faf du Plessis before the mega auction of the Indian Premier League as they have just retained Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal. The franchise will enter the mega auction with a remaining purse of INR 83 crores.
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings will enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction with the largest purse as they have just retained two uncapped players and the franchise will enter the auction with 110.crore INR. The Punjab-based franchise will also look for a skipper as their captain Shikhar Dhawan announced retirement from all forms of game.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Indian Premier League 2024 defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also released their captain Shreyas Iyer before the mega auction and they will also be without their mentor Gautam Gambhir. KKR will also look for a skipper in the upcoming auction.
Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have also released their captain KL Rahul before the mega auction of the marquee event. The Uttar Pradesh-based IPL franchise have retained five players Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan. They will also look for a captain in the upcoming mega auction for IPL 2025.
