When Is the IPL Auction Held? Dates, Venues and Records

The IPL auction is held in the off-season, almost always in November or December, with the odd February exception. The 2026 auction was on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi; the 2025 mega auction on 24 and 25 November 2024 in Jeddah; and the 2027 auction is confirmed for Goa in December 2026, date to be announced. This guide covers the calendar, how the auction runs, what a mini auction and a mega auction are, the record prices, and what is and is not known about December 2026 as of 14 October.

Recent and Upcoming Auctions

Mini and Mega

A mega auction, held every three or four years, rebuilds every squad: franchises keep up to six players and the rest go into the pool. A mini auction fills the gaps: franchises retain whoever they like and bid for the released and new players. The 2025 auction was the mega; 2026 and 2027 are minis; the next mega is due in 2028. The retention rules for each are in our guide to IPL retention rules.

How the Day Runs

1. Registration. Players register weeks in advance at a base price from the published tiers. The list is then shortlisted; 359 made the 2026 auction from a longer register.
2. Marquee sets. The auctioneer opens with sets of the best-known players, then works through by role: batters, all-rounders, wicketkeepers, fast bowlers, spinners, capped and uncapped.
3. Bidding. Franchises raise paddles; increments are fixed by price band. The 2026 auction began at 1pm Abu Dhabi time, 9am in the UK.
4. Accelerated round. At the end, franchises nominate unsold players they want brought back, which is how a player unsold in the morning can be bought in the evening.
5. Squad limits. Between 18 and 25 players, no more than eight overseas, within the purse. For 2026 the ten purses totalled 237.55 crore, from KKR's 64.3 crore to Mumbai Indians' 2.75.

Record Prices

Rishabh Pant's 27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants in November 2024 is the auction record. Cameron Green's 25.20 crore to KKR in December 2025 is the record for an overseas player, ahead of Mitchell Starc's 24.75 crore in 2023. The much-quoted Chris Morris figure of 16.25 crore from 2021 held the record for three years and is now outside the top handful. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, sold to Rajasthan Royals for 1.1 crore at thirteen in 2024, had scored a Youth Test century against Australia the month before; he went on to win the 2026 Orange Cap.

December 2026

What is confirmed: a mini auction in Goa in December 2026, with the trading window open until a week before it. What is not: the date, the purse, and the retention deadline, which has been reported as 15 November 2026 without BCCI confirmation. The Impact Player rule, which affects how franchises value batters and bowlers, is under review for 2027 and had not been decided when this page was last checked. We will update the table when the board publishes the date.

FAQs: The IPL Auction

When is the IPL 2027 auction? December 2026 in Goa, confirmed by the BCCI on 23 September 2026. The exact date has not been announced.

When was the IPL 2026 auction? 16 December 2025 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Is the IPL auction every year? Yes. A mega auction every three or four years rebuilds squads; mini auctions in between fill gaps.

Who is the most expensive IPL auction buy? Rishabh Pant, 27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants in November 2024. Cameron Green's 25.20 crore in 2025 is the overseas record.

Can I watch the IPL auction in the UK? Sky Sports, which holds UK IPL rights to 2027, has carried recent auctions, and the IPL streams it on its own channels. Check the broadcaster nearer the date.

Sources

The 2026 auction venue and retention figures are from iplt20.com. The 2026 auction rules and timing are from Wisden. The 2027 auction in Goa was confirmed by the BCCI secretary on 23 September 2026, as reported by Cricket News via Yahoo Sport.