A pivotal event in the Indian Premier League calendar, the auction enables franchises to build and fine-tune their squads for the forthcoming season.
The auction draws some of the biggest stars from the world of cricket as teams bid against each other for a player until a winning bid is declared.
Every three years there is a mega auction, where teams can retain only six players and must rebuild for the three-year period. The next mega auction will take place in 2027 ahead of the 2028 IPL season.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2027 IPL auction.
IPL Auction dates
While an official date is to be finalised, the 2027 IPL auction is provisionally scheduled for 16th December 2026.
IPL Auction venue
A venue for the 2027 auction is yet to be declared. The 2026 mini auction was staged in Abu Dhabi for the second consecutive year.
IPL Auction format
The sequence of an IPL auction begins with a set of 'marquee' players, which contains the most high-profile individuals who are available at the most lucrative base price.
The auction then moves onto capped international players, who are divided into sets based on their specialisation (batter, bowler etc.) and then uncapped players before the final section of the auction is the accelerated phase, where franchises bid on any of the remaining players.
Teams have a total of 25 squad spaces available, and their activity in the auction will be dictated by the number of players they retained prior to the auction.
Team budgets
Each team has a total budget of INR 151 crore to build their squads and spend in the auction.
Retention limits
Each franchise is allowed to retain a maximum of six players in total ahead of the auction. Of the six players, there can be no more than five capped players (Indian or overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped players.
Right to Match Card
If a franchise decides to retain the full quota of six players, they will not have an RTM (Right to Match) card available in the auction.
The RTM card enables franchises to buy-back a released player by matching the highest bid from another franchise.
The highest bidder will then receive one final opportunity to increase their original bid following the decision of the other team to activate their RTM card. If they do, then the player's previous team must match this bed to secure the player.
IPL Auction available players
The deadline for player retention ahead of the IPL 2027 season is expected to be November 2026, which means all 10 franchises must submit their list of retained and released players to the BCCI by this date.
Players who are released will be available to sign during the pre-auction trade window, where teams conduct swaps and cash deals until a week before the auction.
Available players will be known closer to this time.
