How a cricket auction works: purse, base price and bids

In a cricket auction, teams with equal purses bid in fixed steps from each player's base price, and the last bid when the hammer falls wins the player.

Published 1 November 2026

How a cricket auction works

A cricket auction is how franchise leagues share out players. Each team has the same purse to build its squad. Players come up one at a time at a base price, teams raise the bid in fixed steps, and when nobody goes higher the auctioneer brings the hammer down and the player joins the last team to bid.

It looks like chaos on screen, with paddles going up around the tables, but every auction runs on a few simple rules. Once you know them, you can see the plan behind each bid.

The purse

The purse is a team's total budget for its whole squad, and every team starts with the same amount. It is the main thing that keeps an auction fair: a team can't buy every star, because each big buy leaves less for the rest of the squad.

Before an auction, teams in many leagues may keep some players from the previous season. Those retained players are charged against the purse, so a team that keeps three stars arrives with less to spend than one that starts fresh. That is why some teams go quiet early and others bid on almost everything.

Leagues often hold a big auction every few seasons, where squads are largely rebuilt, and smaller ones in between to fill gaps left by released or retired players.

Base price and the player list

Players register for the auction and choose a base price from a few bands the league sets. The base price is the lowest bid a team can make for that player. A star will usually pick a high band; a young player hoping to be picked will often choose the lowest.

Players are listed by role, in sets: batters, wicketkeepers, all-rounders, fast bowlers and spinners. Many auctions open with a marquee set of the best-known names. Players are also marked as capped, meaning they have played international cricket, or uncapped. Teams study the list for weeks, ranking who they want and where they expect each player to go.

How the bidding works

The auctioneer names the player, their role and their base price. A team opens by raising its paddle at the base price. Each new bid adds a fixed step, the increment, and the steps get bigger as the price climbs. Two teams can go back and forth for minutes over one player.

When the bidding stops, the auctioneer gives a last call and brings down the hammer. The player is sold to the team that made the last bid, at that price, and it comes out of that team's purse at once.

A team can't bid more than it has left, and it still has to fill its minimum squad, so a team near the end of its purse may have to sit out a bidding war it would love to join.

Unsold players

If no team bids even the base price, the player goes unsold. It happens to good players more often than fans expect, usually because teams already have that role covered or are saving their purse for later sets.

An unsold player isn't always finished. Many auctions end with an accelerated round, where teams name unsold players they want to see again and those players come back up, often quickly and in batches. Some leagues also let teams sign players from the unsold list later as replacements for injured players.

Right to match

Some leagues give teams a right to match. When a player who was in a team's squad the previous season is sold to someone else, the old team can claim the player back by matching the final price. In some versions, the team that won the bidding gets one last chance to raise its bid before the old team decides. Each team has only a few of these cards, so using one is a big decision.

Not every league has it, and the details change from season to season, so it is worth checking the rules for each auction.

Squad limits

Every squad has a minimum and maximum size, so teams can't buy too few players or hoard too many. Most leagues also cap the number of overseas players, both in the squad and in the playing XI, with a lower limit for the XI. That means overseas slots are precious, and teams tend to use them on roles that are hard to fill from local players, such as fast bowlers or big hitters at the end of the innings.

Building a balanced squad

The best auction teams aren't the ones that buy the most famous names. They are the ones that leave with a squad that can field a strong XI in any conditions, with cover for injuries. A balanced squad usually needs:

• openers who can use the powerplay;
• a middle order and finishers for the last overs;
• two wicketkeepers, so one injury doesn't leave a hole;
• fast bowlers for the new ball and for the death overs;
• spinners, especially for a home ground that turns;
• all-rounders, who fill two roles and free up a place.

Good teams also think about the order of the sets. Spending most of the purse on the first few lots can leave nothing for the spinner you need three hours later. Waiting too long can mean watching every good keeper go elsewhere. Knowing when to push and when to let a player go is the whole skill of an auction.

Run your own

The best way to understand an auction is to run one: set a purse, open the bidding at the base price, and see how fast a plan falls apart when a rival wants the same player. Try it with friends, or against the computer, and see if your squad stands up when the season starts.

Sources

• Wikipedia: English auction (the open, ascending-bid format)
• Wikipedia: Right of first refusal (the idea behind a right to match)
• ESPN (2024): retentions, the purse and right to match in a franchise auction

Play: Mock auction game: build a squad with friends