If you have been following IPL since its origin then you would know that auction is where the real action is. It is where careers are made, millions of dollars spent and also where a player might get snubbed, erasing their reputation. The IPL auction 2020 was a blockbuster, and the 2021 auction is not going to be any different.
IPL auction 2021 takes prominence with India’s victory against Australia and the recent win against England. Will IPL franchises go for a cricketer offering stability or someone with hard hitting power? If you are excited to find out answers to these questions, here is how you can join and watch the auction live.
IPL auction 2021 date and time
The IPL auction 2021 date is February 18th, 2021. BCCI has been preparing for weeks and the auction is being held in Chennai. According to IPL organisers, a total of 1,114 players had initially registered for the 2021 IPL auction.
Out of the registered players, 292 players will go under the hammer and one can expect fierce bidding from select teams, which have a larger purse than their rivals. The livestream for the auction event will commence at 2pm but the actual IPL auction time is 3pm.
If you are in Australia then the live stream will begin at 8.30pm AEDT and 22.30 NZDT in New Zealand. Those in the United States will be able to catch the livestream starting from 4.30am EST or 1.30am PST.
IPL auction 2021 live: how to watch on Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar
One of the staple diets of IPL auction has been auctioneer Richard Madley throwing down the hammer on players. This year, international auctioneer Hugh Edmeades will do the honours. As mentioned above, the auction will start at 3pm in India. Star Sports network and Disney+ Hotstar have the rights for broadcast and streaming in India.
While the official listing shows that Star Sports network will start the pre-auction show at 2pm, the official TV schedule shows pre-auction kickoff at 7:30am. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 3 will have curtain raiser event but only Star Sports 1 channels will show live auction.
If you are someone who decided to cut cords and rely on streaming services for all your content, then you can get your IPL auction 2021 fix via Disney+ Hotstar. The 2021 IPL auction live streaming will be on Foxtel (Fox Cricket) in Australia, Sky Network Television (Sky Sport 2) in New Zealand and Willow TV in the USA.
Which channels telecast IPL 2021 auction?
The IPL auction live telecast channels are Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu and Star Sports 1 Kannada. The whole auction is scheduled for a period of 6 hours or 360 minutes. It will start at 3pm and conclude at 9pm.
IPL auction 2021: Star Sports channel list on Tata Sky
| Channel Name | Channel Number |
| Star Sports 1 | 455 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi | 460 |
| Star Sports 1 HD | 454 |
| Star Sports 1 HD Hindi | 459 |
| Star Sports 1 Tamil | 1516 |
| Star Sports 1 Telugu | 1421 |
| Star Sports 1 Kannada | 1638 |
IPL auction 2021: Star Sports channel list on Dish TV
| Channel Name | Channel Number |
| Star Sports 1 | 603 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi | 607 |
| Star Sports 1 HD | 602 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi HD | 606 |
| Star Sports 1 Tamil | NA |
| Star Sports 1 Telugu | NA |
| Star Sports 1 Kannada | NA |
IPL auction 2021: Star Sports channel list on Airtel Digital TV
| Channel Name | Channel Number |
| Star Sports 1 | 277 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi | 281 |
| Star Sports 1 HD | 278 |
| Star Sports 1 HD Hindi | 282 |
| Star Sports 1 Tamil | 803 |
| Star Sports 1 Telugu | 928 |
| Star Sports 1 Kannada | 974 |
IPL auction 2021: Star Sports channel list on Sun Direct
| Channel Name | Channel Number |
| Star Sports 1 | 500 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi | 503 |
| Star Sports 1 HD | 984 |
| Star Sports 1 HD Hindi | 985 |
| Star Sports 1 Tamil | 504 |
| Star Sports 1 Telugu | 511 |
| Star Sports 1 Kannada | 513 |
IPL auction 2021: Star Sports channel list on Videocon d2h
| Channel Name | Channel Number |
| Star Sports 1 | 401 |
| Star Sports 1 Hindi | 407 |
| Star Sports 1 HD | 923 |
| Star Sports 1 HD Hindi | 925 |
| Star Sports 1 Tamil | 521 |
| Star Sports 1 Telugu | 750 |
| Star Sports 1 Kannada | 689 |
IPL auction list
| IPL 2021/ Squad Size/Salary Cap/Available Slots | ||||||
| Franchise | No of Players | No of Overseas Players | Total money spent (Rs) | Salary cap available (Rs) | Available Slots | Overseas Slots |
| CSK | 19 | 7 | 65.1 crores | 19.9 crores | 6 | 1 |
| DC | 17 | 5 | 71.6 crores | 13.4 crores | 8 | 3 |
| KXIP | 16 | 3 | 31.8 crores | 53.2 crores | 9 | 5 |
| KKR | 17 | 6 | 74.25 crores | 10.75 crores | 8 | 2 |
| MI | 18 | 4 | 69.65 crores | 15.35 crores | 7 | 4 |
| RR | 16 | 5 | 47.15 crores | 37.85 crores | 9 | 3 |
| RCB | 14 | 5 | 49.6 crores | 35.4 crores | 11 | 3 |
| SRH | 22 | 7 | 74.25 crores | 10.75 crores | 3 | 1 |
With a total of 292 cricketers set to go under the hammer, Rs 2 crore is the highest reserve price. Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav are the two Indian players with the highest reserve price. Among overseas players, eight cricketers including Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy and Mark Wood, are in the highest price bracket.
There are 12 players in the auction list with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Indian cricketers Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav are among the list of 11 players with a base price of Rs 1 crore. A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players and 3 players from associate nations will be up for grabs in the IPL 2021 player auction in Chennai.
IPL 2021 FAQs
What is the date of IPL 2021?
The fourteenth season of IPL called the 2021 Indian Premier League is set to be played between April and May 2021.
Will MS Dhoni play in IPL 2021?
Yes, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been signed by Chennai Super Kings for one more season of IPL and will play in IPL 2021. The ex-skipper of the Indian National Cricket Team has become the first-ever player to get a salary of Rs 150cr from IPL.