The IPL 2021 auction will take place in Chennai on Thursday, February 18, 2021. Eight franchises will take part in the auction for IPL 14, with 292 players up for buying. A maximum of 61 can be bought from those who are part of the auction.

When is the IPL 2021 auction taking place?
The IPL 2021 auction will take place in Chennai on February 18, 2021. It will start at 3:00 PM India time.

How many players are part of the auction?
292 players have been shortlisted by the eight franchises. There are only 61 slots available to be filled, if each franchise hits the maximum allowable limit of 25 players.

How many slots for Indian and overseas players?
A maximum of 22 overseas players can be bought, given the cap of 8 overseas players per franchise.

Which players are expected to fetch the highest price?
Several prominent names are part of the auction and could fetch big prices. These include: Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali, Steven Smith, Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Karun Nair, Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Marnus Labuschagne and Aaron Finch.

Which team has the highest budget, and the lowest?
The budgets and slots available for each side are as follow: Chennai Super Kings: INR 19.9 crore. 6 slots available. 1 overseas slot available. Delhi Capitals: INR 13.4 crore. 8 slots available. 3 overseas slot available. Kolkata Knight Riders: INR 10.75 crore. 8 slots available. 2 overseas slot available. Mumbai Indians: INR 15.35 crore. 7 slots available. 4 overseas slot available. Punjab Kings: INR 53.2 crore. 9 slots available. 5 overseas slot available. Rajasthan Royals: INR 37.85 crore. 9 slots available. 3 overseas slot available. Royal Challengers Bangalore: INR 35.4 crore. 11 slots available. 3 overseas slot available. Sunrisers Hyderabad: INR 10.75 crore. 3 slots available. 1 overseas slot available.

Punjab Kings - formerly Kings XI Punjab - have the highest budget with INR 53.2 crore. Both KKR and SRH have the joint lowest budget with INR 10.75 crore. RCB have the most slots available, with 11, while defending champions MI have the most overseas slot available with 4.

How will the IPL 2021 auction run?
Players will be grouped into different sets. 14 marquee players will form the first two sets. The rest of the players are grouped by skill - batsmen, wicketkeepers, fast bowlers, spin bowlers, allrounders - and the sets are formed based on international and IPL experience.

Will there be an accelerated auction too?
Yes there will. After the first 13 sets, comprising 87 players, are completed, the auction will become an accelerated one, where teams will submit names of players from those who have gone unsold till then and those yet to come under the hammer. The next round(s) will comprise of only those players whose names have been submitted.

Do franchises have a Right To Match card option No, they do not. Right To Match cards are only there in mega auctions. The next mega auction is scheduled for 2022, next year.

When will IPL 2021 start, and where will it be held?
BCCI has not announced the dates and venue(s) for IPL 2021 but it is expected to be held in India, from April till the first week of June.

Where will the IPL 2021 auction be telecast?
On Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1HD, and on the Star Sports regional channels.