IPL Auction 2025: Mega auction set to take place on November 24 and 25 in Saudi Arabia

All eyes are now on the highly-anticipated IPL 2025 auction. All the ten franchises have already announced the names of the players they have retained ahead of the auction.

A total of 46 players have been retained by the franchises. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals are the only franchises to retain the full quota of six players. On the other hand, Punjab Kings have retained only two players.

Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, and Gujarat Titans have retained five players each while Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have decided to retain only four players each. Royal Challengers Bengaluru have retained three players.

Punjab Kings will enter the auction with the biggest purse - INR 110.5 crore. They are the only team with a purse of 100 crore or more. A number of big players will be up for grabs in the auction. The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant lead the list of big names who will go under the hammer in the upcoming IPL 2025 auction.

IPL Auction 2025 venue and date:

While the stage is perfectly set for yet another memorable IPL auction, the BCCI is yet to announce the venue and the date for the event. And while the board is expected to make the announcement soon, reports state that the IPL 2025 auction is likely to take place on November 24 and 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Reports state that the final arrangements are in progress and an announcement is anticipated soon. One of the main reasons behind the delay in announcement is the collision of the IPL 2025 auction date with India's first Test against Australia, scheduled to be played from November 22 to 26.

Broadcasters Disney Star, which holds the broadcast rights for both the IPL and the India-Australia Test series, is keen to avoid a direct overlap between the events. However, if the auction is held in the afternoon (IST), the event and the Test match would not clash.

A report in India Today stated that the BCCI officials have already conducted preliminary visits to Saudi Arabia to assess potential venues. Another BCCI delegation is likely to visit Riyadh on Monday (November 4). At the beginning, Jeddah was considered as a venue but Riyadh has now emerged as the front-runner to host the IPL 2025 auction.

The BCCI also explored other venues such as Dubai, Singapore and Vienna as well but eventually decided to conduct the event in Saudi Arabia.