Significant modifications have been made to the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction process by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), particularly in relation to foreign players.
Starc broke all previous records in the IPL 2024 auction, becoming the most expensive player in T20 league history after being signed for INR 24.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders. Nevertheless, from the player’s perspective, that would no longer be feasible.
A new rule that would prevent foreign players from earning more money than those sold or retained in the super auction was mooted by the BCCI ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
made his IPL comeback in the 2024 season, putting him eligible for the mini-auction, where the Knight Riders paid a record-breaking amount for him. His return to the T20 league,
meanwhile, was not without criticism. Some foreign players, it was suggested, should only be available for mini-auctions in an effort to take advantage of the imbalanced supply and demand.
But starting with the IPL 2025 season, that would not be feasible.
An foreign player who wants to play in the IPL 2026 and 2027 seasons will need to register for the mega auction (2025), according to a report in Cricbuzz. A small number of exceptions have also been allowed in situations where the player is ill or injured.
In the IPL 2026 auction, there will be a salary cap for foreign players as well. The highest retention fee of a player or the price another player is able to achieve in the mega-auction will decide the maximum fee that an international player can earn in the mini-auction. The smaller of the two amounts will be taken into account.
Example: No foreign player would be able to earn more than INR 15 crore in the next mini-auction if Virat Kohli is retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a charge of INR 18 crores and Deepak Chahar is purchased for a fee of INR 15 crore at the 2025 mega auction.
The most an international player could possibly make in the event that Deepak Chahar is signed for INR 20 crores in the super auction is INR 18 crore (Virat Kohli’s retention fee).
Franchises are free to bid for as long as they choose, but any money above 18 or 15 crore, as previously mentioned, will go into the BCCI’s bank account rather than the player’s.
