Ahead of the mega auction, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has released the schedule for the next three seasons, confirming the tournament dates for 2025, 2026, and 2027. The 2025 IPL will kick off on March 14 and conclude with the final on May 25. The 2026 season is set to run from March 15 to May 31, while the 2027 season will span from March 14 to May 30.
According to ESPNCricinfo report the IPL termed these dates as "windows" in an email sent to the franchises on Thursday, although they are expected to be the finalised dates. The 2025 season will feature 74 matches, the same number as the previous three seasons. This marks a reduction from the 84 matches initially listed for the 2025 season in the 2022 media rights tender, which outlined varying match numbers across seasons.
IPL 2025 mega auction details
With the dates of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth clashing with the IPL 2025, the BCCI decided that the IPL 2025 mega auction starts 10 minutes after the end of day's play in Perth. Reportedly, the Abady Al Johar Arena (also known as Benchmark Arena) in Jeddah will play hosts to IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL 2025 mega auction will start 12:30 PM local time, which means 3 PM in Indian time.
Out of the 1574 players who registered at for the IPL 2025 mega auction, the BCCI has zeroed on a total of 574 names who will go under the hammer in the two-day event. Among the final names, 366 are Indian players while 208 are overseas cricketers, including three associate nation players.
