What is a Marquee Player in IPL Auction?

The IPL auction is perhaps the biggest event that happens off the field in cricket. Many renowned international players and local Indian talents go under the hammer to represent the ten IPL franchises.

Among those are the marquee players. You must have heard about them before the main auction kicks off.

But what is the meaning of a marquee player in the IPL auction?

In this article, let’s understand the marquee players listed in the IPL auction.

Marquee Player in IPL Auction

You see, the IPL auction takes place almost every year. After every three to four years, the IPL conducts a mega auction where teams need to build their squad from almost scratch. And then, there are mini-auctions between them where teams have a few specific requirements.

So those players who aren’t part of a team or didn’t get retained throw their names in the auction pool. Thousands of players, local and overseas, register for this lucrative auction.

Now among those names, some of them are experienced Indian and overseas players. They are proven match-winners in international cricket as well as other professional leagues, including the IPL.

A handful of them end up getting listed as marquee players in the IPL auction. These are elite category cricketers who are up for grabs at the start of the auction.

To give you an example, let’s look at the 12 marquee players in the IPL 2025 auction.

For the first time, there are two marquee sets of six players each. The first set (M1) includes Jos Buttler, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, and Mitchell Starc. And the other set (M2) consists of Yuzvendra Chahal, Liam Livingstone, David Miller, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.

So if you notice closely, all of them have made their mark in international cricket and the IPL. Such players are probably at the peak of their careers going into the pool and have a high brand value.

These marquee players are expected to get bids from almost all franchises. And there is a high chance that some of them might be expensive picks in the auction.

Plus, their base price is also the highest among all registered players. As for the IPL 2025 auction, 11 of them have set their base price at INR 2 crore, while David Miller’s base price is INR 1.5 crore.

So when the auction starts, these 12 marquee players will first go under the hammer. Once the marquee sets are done, then the subsequent sets are up for grabs.

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