The IPL auctions are a proverbial roller coaster ride of emotions and tensions. A large number of players try their luck and dream of getting a big contract from a franchise.
However, only a few players will receive offers in rounds one and two while many more won’t even be called for the auction. They will still keep their fingers crossed as they wait for the fast track round to begin.
What is This Accelerated Round in IPL Auction Anyway? And what is its process?
The time has come to find out about the fast track round that takes place during the IPL auction.
IPL Auction Accelerated Round
Look, the first part of the IPL auction consists of a few great players. After the great player sets are completed, player sets with a specific skill set follow.
As an illustration, there will be various groups for batters, wicket-keepers, all-rounders, fast-bowlers, and spinners. There will be separate groups for capped and uncapped players.
Now thousands of players with a particular skill set nominate themselves, but only a few hundred are selected for the final auction list. However, being on the final list doesn’t necessarily mean that every player will be called for bidding.
What? Yes, you understood it correctly.
After certain sets are completed, the auction enters the accelerated round or accelerated process. To illustrate, let’s identify the starting point of the accelerated round in the IPL 2023 auction.
The IPL 2023 auction was held at the end of December 2022. A total of 405 players reached the final list, but not all of them were auctioned.
The 405 players were classified into 43 sets. But only 86 of them in the first 13 sets were called for bidding one by one. After that, the auction was in an accelerated process.
But what is the method behind the accelerated round? Let’s stick with our previous example.
IPL Governing Council (IPL GC) after the first thirteen sets were over requested the 10 franchises to give them a list of players for the sets ranging from 14 to 43. The names of such selected players were later called for auction.
However, this is not the only accelerated round that occurs. After this procedure is completed, there will be several more accelerated rounds if the franchises have not occupied their minimum slots.
The IPL GC then asks the franchises for the list of players from all sets who were either not sold or were not presented before and who are going to be auctioned again. The accelerated round happens even if there is only one player involved in the process.
At the same time, there is no assurance that the chosen players will receive any bids, not even in the accelerated round.
