Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
The richest cricket league in the world, the Indian Premier League, is having its latest mini-auction in Dubai this year. Every year, the franchises buy and release players at a venue usually in India. This year, however, there is a change of scenery with Coca Cola Arena playing host.
The UAE has also hosted the IPL in the past – 2014, 2019 (a bit part) and 2020, due to COVID-19 issues in India. With the auction happening here, there is speculation that the 2024 IPL will be held in the UAE again, because its usual window clashes with the Indian elections, the same reason why it moved in 2014.
For now, officially Dubai is just an excuse to get out to finish the business side of things in a mixed atmosphere of relaxation and professional ambience, something which the UAE is very well-known for.
From 2008 till date, each franchise value has grown from an average value of $67 million to $1.04 billion, according to a Forbes report last year. The Dubai auction will feature 335 cricketers – 214 Indians, 119 overseas players, and two from associate nations.
A maximum of 77 slots will be decided, with 30 being overseas players. However, the two Associate nation cricketers and many others will be extremely lucky if there names even come up for consideration. Among the most highly anticipated events on the cricket calendars, the prices that some names attract are not always for reasons of pure talent alone.
Players can start the bidding for their services at up to $240,000 but the best will be snapped up for many times that. Depending on the purse that the teams have, their squad composition, players’ availability for the tournament that can last almost two months and the kind of talent available – all these factors come into play.
Many players have benefitted just by being in the right time and the right place if a bidding war happens. As things stand, Gujarat Titans have the biggest purse to spend, half a million over Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, Hyderabad have six slots to fill compared to Gujarat’s eight, including the biggest hole to fill; the movement of captain Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians in a pre-auction trade has been the most important highlight in the buildup of IPL 2024.
Here is what each of the 10 franchises are looking for (amounts converted to approx 1 USD = 3.67 AED):
Chennai Super Kings Purse - $3.76 million | Slots left - 6 | Overseas slots left - 3
Delhi Capitals Purse - $3.48m | Slots - 9 (Overseas 4)
Gujarat Titans Purse - $4.59m | Slots - 8 (2)
Kolkata Knight Riders Purse - $3.94m | Slots - 12 (4)
Lucknow Super Giants Purse - $1.58m | Slots - 6 (2)
Mumbai Indians Purse - $2.14m | Slots - 8 (4)
Punjab Kings Purse - $3.50m | Slots - 8 (2)
Rajasthan Royals Purse - $1.75m | Slots - 8 (3)
Royal Challengers Bangalore Purse - $2.80m | Slots - 6 (3)
Sunrisers Hyderabad Purse - $4.09m | Slots - 6 (3)
