The countdown has begun as the much-awaited IPL 2022 auction is less than five days away. A total of 590 cricketers will go under the hammer on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru as the 10 franchises – including newly-added Lucknow Super Giants and Team Ahmedabad – will look to build their squads.
Fans will be able to watch the live streaming of the IPL 2022 auction on Disney+ Hotstar, while the mega event will be telecast live on Star Sports Network.
Meanwhile, the timing for the IPL 2022 auction has been confirmed and it will begin at 12:00 PM IST on Saturday and Sunday (February 12 and 13) as confirmed by an official of the broadcasters.
“Both days (February 12 and 13) - pre-show at 11 am. Auctions begin at 12 noon,” a Star Sports official told Zee News.
Samay hai strategies aur tough decisions lene ka, kyunki mausam hai fan neeti ka!
Find out how the @IPL teams make big moves & build their road to success, at the #TATAIPLAuction 2022!
Feb 12-13, 11 AM onwards | Star Sports Network & Disney+Hotstar pic.twitter.com/ZKir9HlL4m
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 8, 2022
Notably, the auction will take place in a bio-secure bubble amid a challenging COVID-19 pandemic in India. The BCCI have laid down some mandatory rules that all 10 teams need to follow at IPL 2022 auction table.
- The IPL 2022 auction will take place in a bio-bubble.
- The officials representing the franchises will have to clear COVID-19 tests with negative RT-PCR report on February 9, 10 and 11. The testing will be conducted by BCCI-accredited medical agency.
- No Right to Match (RTM) option will be available for the team in this auction.
- Only 3 players have been allowed to be retained by the original eight IPL teams while the two new teams have been allowed 3 draft picks ahead of the auction. It means all the teams will start with a clean slate at the auction.
- The IPL 2022 purse has been raised to Rs 90 crore from Rs 80 crore to accommodate more players, especially from the domestic circuit.
- Participants who have returned to India after overseas trips in the last 15 days will have to undergo 7-day mandatory quarantine and test negative on Day 8 and 9 (twice).
- BCCI will keep a close watch on those arriving at the team hotel on February 11. They will be monitored for COVID-19 symptoms.
- The testing will be conducted between 12 am to 7 am to ensure smooth conduct of the IPL 2022 auction on February 12 and 13. The members will stay in their rooms until declared negative for the virus.
- All the attendees will have to share full details including COVID vaccination results (if any) with the BCCI medical team.
- All the participants will have to wear masks in the auditorium at the auction table.
Meanwhile, out of 590 players who have registered for the auction, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and seven belong to Associate Nations.
Interestingly, INR 2 crore is the highest reserve price and as many as 48 players have chosen to place themselves in this bracket.
There are 20 players on the auction list with a reserve price of INR 1.5 crore while 34 players are on the list of cricketers with a reserve price of INR 1 crore.
