The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the world’s best and most exciting cricket leagues. Prior to each season, teams can purchase and exchange players at an auction. Teams cannot spend any amount of money, however, as each team has to operate within a set budget called the auction purse.
For IPL 2025, every team has been provided with an auction purse of ₹120 crore, which is the biggest sum of money permitted by the IPL! The auction purse is like pocket money, each team can spend on players. The teams can spend money on players for the auction or keep the players they already have. If a team spends money to retain players before the auction, it deducts that amount from their purse, leaving the remaining balance for the auction.
Auction Purse Limit Over The Years
Let’s now examine how the auction purse has progressed over the years.
Between a mega auction event held in 2018 and one in 2022, the franchises collectively expended ₹80 crore. This sum had seen an incremental rise in 2022-₹90 crore, and it attained figures of ₹95 crore and ₹100 crore for 2023 and 2024, respectively. The next 10-crore increment occurred in 2025, when the purse withstood an 80-crore increase over the first one. The increase certainly shows that the IPL has grown in wealth through the years.
However, teams cannot save this money for later use. According to IPL legislation, every franchise team has to spend at least ₹90 crore of its auction purse. This rule helps teams choose the right players and build a strong team. They can’t keep players they don’t plan to use. It makes teams think smart and be fair. This way, every team has a good chance to do well.
Teams can retain some of their current players before the auction begins. This is referred to as retention. In IPL 2025, a team is allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players. Of these, they can retain a maximum of 3 Indian and 2 overseas players (but a maximum of 4 overall). They can also retain uncapped players — players who have yet to play for the Indian national team. Keeping players retains the core group for the teams, but it also consumes some of the purse.
Assume that a team retains 4 players and spends ₹30 crore on them. This implies that they would have ₹90 crore remaining to spend during the auction. A team that retains fewer players could have more cash to spend during the auction. It is all about planning and making intelligent decisions.
Player salaries are rising, and the BCCI wanted to create a more level playing field for all players being auctioned. That’s why the maximum available purse has been increased this season. Not only will teams have the potential to place greater bids, but they must also share them to stimulate the auction. On top of this, the controversial higher purse gives equal status to every team and the same chance for building a great team.
In the end, the auction purse does a lot of work in IPL team-building. Teams have a lot of stock to keep in ₹120 crores, as to whom they should keep and whom they should buy. They also have to comply with the rules for a cash total of at least ₹90 crore, so it is really fun as fans to witness how each of the franchises will spend their money, whom they bid on, or which players join which team. What a surprise IPL 2025 will be! And it all begins with the purse.
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