IPL 2022 Mega Auction

The biggest auction yet

Two new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, took the league to ten teams, and every existing squad was broken up again. Each newcomer signed three players before the auction; everyone else went into a pool of 600 lots over two days. The auction was briefly halted on the first day when the auctioneer, Hugh Edmeades, collapsed on stage; he recovered, and the sale went on.

Punjab kept only two players and spent the most, building almost an entire squad in two days.

Indian players at a premium

The most expensive buys were overwhelmingly Indian. Mumbai paid ₹15.25 crore to bring back Ishan Kishan, Chennai ₹14 crore for Deepak Chahar, who was injured and missed the season, and Kolkata ₹12.25 crore for their new captain Shreyas Iyer. Uncapped Indian players were priced as never before: Lucknow paid ₹10 crore for Avesh Khan, and Gujarat ₹9 crore for Rahul Tewatia, whose last-over hitting won them several matches.

Gujarat's first season

Gujarat Titans spent less than most of the league at this auction, built a squad around Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill, and won the title at the first attempt, beating Rajasthan in the final. Both new franchises reached the playoffs. Their pages, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, show how they were built.

Reading the numbers

With more than ₹550 crore spent, 2022 was the biggest auction the league had held, and overseas players took just over two fifths of the money, in line with every other mega auction. Punjab and Hyderabad spent the most; Chennai, who had kept four players, spent the least.

Gujarat, sixth of ten on spend, won the title. Only about a third of the 600 players in the auction were sold. Punjab's spending bought a squad that finished sixth; the franchise would go further still at the next mega auction.