The mini players’ auction for the 2023 season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) will reportedly be held on December 23 in Kochi.
Although an official announcement is yet to be made but as per an ESPN Cricinfo report, the auction would be a one-day affair and will be conducted in Kochi.
This is the first time in the history of the tournament that the auctions will be held in the state of Kerala.
Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had set a November 15 deadline for the franchises to send the final list of retained players. This time around, each team can retain up to 15 players and have to release the remaining 10. Earlier during the last season, the team size was set to a maximum of 25 while the minimum number of players in a team was 18.
The report further said that each franchise will have an additional INR 5 crore in addition to the money left over from last year’s mega auctions. The total figure will be around INR 95 crore for the mini auctions.
Notably, the Preity Zinta-owned Punjab Kings (PBKS) were left with the largest purse worth Rs 3.45 cores after the 2022 players’ auctions while the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had INR 2.95 crore, followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 1.55 crore), Rajasthan Royals (INR 0.95 crore), and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 0.45 crore).
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad had INR 0.10 crore each left in their respective purses. Defending champions Gujarat Titans were left with INR 0.15 crore while Lucknow Super Giants were the only side to exhaust their entire purse.