The Indian Premier League is many months away but the action around it never seems to stop.
There was bound to be a lot of noise surrounding the 2025 IPL as it was the cycle where all teams hit the reset button by retaining a handful of players and sending everyone else back to the auction pool.
At the end of last month, all 10 franchises announced their list of retained players with a number of surprises.
South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen was the most expensive retention at $2.7 million by Sunrisers Hyderabad, while West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow) and Indian superstar Virat Kohli (Bengaluru) came in second behind him at $2.5m.
A number of big names were released into the auction pool, including the likes of Kolkata's winning captain Shreyas Iyer and Delhi's Rishabh Pant.
The focus now shifts to the mega player auction that takes place later this month.
When and where is the IPL 2025 player auction taking place?
The player auction will take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The number of players involved means the auction will run across two days with a large contingent of representatives from the 10 franchises and broadcasters.
Why is the auction taking place in Saudi Arabia?
This is not the first time the player auction is venturing out of India. Last year, the player auction was held at the Coca-Cola in Dubai. There, records were broken as Australia's World Cup heroes Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins became the most expensive players in the history of the tournament.
This time, another overseas venue was scouted for the auction with Dubai and London also reported to be on the shortlist, alongside Riyadh and Jeddah. London did not make the cut eventually, most likely due to weather and time zone factors.
Saudi Arabia was finalised as the venue, which can only foster warming of ties between the kingdom and the sport.
Up until recently, the kingdom's state-owned Aramco was one of the sponsors in the IPL, but then decided to discontinue their partnership. Earlier, reports had emerged for Saudi Arabia being keen to invest in the Indian Premier League but technical and legal complexities in the structure of the IPL are said to have stopped any development on that front.
The IPL auction taking place in Saudi Arabia also sends a message of the kingdom being in the sights of cricket's stakeholders in some capacity.
The auction is scheduled to take place at the Abady Al Johar Arena, also known as Benchmark Arena.
IPL 2025 retained players
How many players will participate in the auction?
A grand total of 1,574 players (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have signed up to be part of the player auction.
A majority of the overseas contingent are from familiar cricket countries such as Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, and other Test nations. However, players from Associate teams are also hopeful of landing a bid. One player from Italy has entered the player auction, too.
Interestingly, England's Test legend James Anderson, who recently retired from cricket, has made himself available for the auction. However star all-rounder Ben Stokes has not put his name in the auction hat, possibly due to the IPL's newly implemented and strict rules around players signing up for auction and then pulling out of the tournament.
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Brown/Black belt finals
3pm: 49kg female: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) v Thamires Aquino (BRA)
3.07pm: 56kg male: Hiago George (BRA) v Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA)
3.14pm: 55kg female: Amal Amjahid (BEL) v Bianca Basilio (BRA)
3.21pm: 62kg male: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) v Joao Miyao (BRA)
3.28pm: 62kg female: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR)
3.35pm: 69kg male: Isaac Doederlein (BRA) v Paulo Miyao (BRA)
3.42pm: 70kg female: Thamara Silva (BRA) v Alessandra Moss (AUS)
3.49pm: 77kg male: Oliver Lovell (GBR) v Tommy Langarkar (NOR)
3.56pm: 85kg male: Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE) v Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA)
4.03pm: 90kg female: Claire-France Thevenon (FRA) v Gabreili Passanha (BRA)
4.10pm: 94kg male: Adam Wardzinski (POL) v Kaynan Duarte (BRA)
4.17pm: 110kg male: Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE) v Joao Rocha (BRA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
