Only a week remains before the IPL franchises officially announce their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. Lot of big names like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have been rumoured to be entering the auction pool. Whenever an Indian cricket team regular enters the auction pool, it throws up huge possibility in the auction market. Now, another big name – an IPL-winning captain – may enter the list. The IPL-winning captain is neither MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya. 

It is Shreyas Iyer. According to a video discussion on ESPN Cricinfo, it is an ‘open secret’ that Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL -winning skipper Shreyas Iyer is not confirmed to move out but is thinking hard after receiving a mega offer from a rival franchise. 

All 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) are set to finalise their list of player retentions. Reports have claimed that October 31st is the last day to submit the players retention list, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. According to reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to host the IPL mega auction in the last week of November. However, the BCCI is yet to make a formal announcement, as far as the date and venue are concerned.

Having said that, two contradictory reports regarding the date and venue of the auction have emerged.

While Times of India (TOI) reported that the auction will take place on November 30. The IPL 2024 auction was held in Dubai last year, and the report claims “there is a possibility of the Indian cricket board hosting it in Dubai” once again.

On the contrary, Sportstar have reported that the auction will be held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and it will be a two-day affair (November 24 and 25).

Initially, London and Singapore were considered as venues to host the auction. However, Riyadh is now leading the race because of a favourable time zone.

“The Board and the IPL officials are in the ‘final stages’ of finalising the venue that can accommodate the entire entourage – including delegations from the 10 franchises and a large crew from Jio and Disney Star – over three days,” Sportstar reported.