Do IPL franchises, BCCI play any role in deciding a player’s base price for an IPL auction? Here's all you need to know

Another year and another Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. Since it's inception, the world's richest franchise league has crossed 18 glorious seasons, studded with some of best memories, the latest being Virat Kohli lifting the silverware for the first time in his career.

With the IPL 2026 auction is just five days away, the buzz around the sporting extravaganza has once again started with 350 players to go under the hammer in Abu Dhabi on December 16 for the 77 vacant slots. The highest base price at the auction is ₹2 crore with 40 cricketers opting to enter the bidding war in this bracket.

Furthermore, players have also registered themselves in brackets - ₹1.5 crore (9 players), ₹1.25 crore (4), ₹1 crore (17), ₹75 lakh (42), ₹50 lakh (4), ₹40 lakh (7) and ₹30 lakh (227) for the IPL 2026 auction.

The choice of the base price by the players is a bit of strategic play. While a high base price can increase the risk of a player getting unsold, a lower base price widens the chance of attracting more franchises and even start a bidding war. Cricketers, who are at the fag end of their careers and no longer play international cricket, opt for a lower base price in recent years.

One must understand that a base price is not influenced by any franchise recommendation. What does influence a player is his market demand, competition and his recent form. Once the auction begins, it's all fate.

One of the prime example is India batter Shreyas Iyer. The 31-year-old, who had won the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 season, was in high demand if available in the auction. Iyer set himself a base price of ₹2 crore and was put in the selected list of marquee players.

What unfolded was no one expected as Iyer was bought by the Punjab Kings for a mammoth price of ₹26.75 crore, second-most expensive player in IPL history.