Not India Or Dubai! IPL 2025 Auction Likely To Be Hosted In Saudi Arabia: Report

The IPL 2025 will be a huge edition, as it sees the return of the mega auction for the first time since 2022. Some of the biggest players will be up for sale, with franchises allowed to retain just six players. The retention rules are now in place and now all eyes will be on when the auction will take place. However, the mega event will not be held in India this time. It will also not be held in Dubai, like it happened during the IPL 2024 mini auction. This time a new country will be hosting the event.

BCCI Shortlists Two Saudi Arabian Cities For IPL 2025 AuctionAccording to a report by Cricbuzz, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shortlisted the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah as the two most probable venues for the auction that is to be held across two days. Dubai in the UAE is also an option, but not the favoured one. However, selecting a hotel at one these potential venues has been a challenge.London was also initially selected as one of the venues, but the cold weather there during the projected time of the auction forced the BCCI to drop this choice. When Will The IPL 2025 Auction Take Place?The IPL 2025 auction will most likely take place in the final week of November. The deadline for announcing the retentions for the sides is October 31. IPL Owners Express Concern Over RTM Card RuleAccording the IPL rules, the team with the highest bid before the RTM card is applied by another franchise, will get a chance to increase their bid one final time. This means that if Team A has secured the highest bd before the RTM card is exercised by Team B, then Team A will have the chance to increase their bid, and Team B will then have the choice whether they want to match that bid or not.According to a report by Cricbuzz, the teams have written to the BCCI expressing concern at this very rule. Their concern was that this rule gives extra advantage to the highest bidder and therefore makes the advantage of having an RTM card null and void.