IPL Auction 2026: How an IPL Auctioneer Decides a Sale — And What Happens If a Bid Is Missed

At an IPL auction, the authority to close a sale rests entirely with the auctioneer. Once bidding begins, franchises signal their intent by raising paddles, with bids moving up in fixed increments from the base price set for each player.

Players are called out in pre-arranged sets, grouped by role such as batter, bowler, all-rounder or wicketkeeper and further segmented by base price. This structure ensures order, but it also means the auction moves quickly, especially during high-volume phases.

A player is deemed sold when the auctioneer calls the final sequence, commonly phrased as “going once, going twice”, and no franchise raises its paddle to continue bidding. At that point, the highest bid on the table stands. When the gavel falls, the sale becomes final under IPL auction rules, leaving no scope for reversal, even if a franchise disputes what happened moments earlier.

Players who go unsold in the initial rounds are not removed from contention altogether. They enter an accelerated auction phase, where only names specifically requested by franchises are brought back into the bidding. Even if a player remains unsold after this stage, he stays eligible as a potential injury replacement later in the season.

While the system is designed to be transparent and definitive, it is not infallible.

A notable example came on the second day of the IPL 2025 mega auction, during bidding for young batter Swastik Chikara. Royal Challengers Bengaluru opened the bidding at his base price of Rs. 30 lakh and appeared to face no competition. However, Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani later claimed that his franchise had raised its paddle, but the bid went unnoticed.

Auctioneer Mallika Sagar subsequently acknowledged missing DC’s signal, citing the speed of proceedings. Despite protests from Delhi Capitals, including visible frustration from co-owner Kiran Grandhi, the sale stood. Under auction regulations, once the gavel falls, the transaction is final, regardless of missed signals or post-sale objections.

Published on Dec 16, 2025