Revealed: Who is the IPL 2024 auctioneer; It's not Hugh Edmeades

Huge Edmeades had replaced Richard Madley as IPL auctioneer in 2019.

IPL 2024 auction is scheduled for December 19, 2023. And for the very first time, it will take place outside India, at the Coca-Cola arena in Dubai. The auction will witness 333 players going under the hammer to fill in 77 spots.

Out of the 77 spots, 30 are overseas slots. 214 Indians among the 333 players listed for the mini-auction, 119 from other countries, and two from associate nations. Furthermore, 116 are capped cricketers, while 215 are uncapped.

Each of the franchises will have an INR 100 crore budget for spending. Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will have the most slots to fill (12), while the 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans will enter the auction with the biggest purse (38.15 crore).

Hugh Edmeades replaced by Mallika Sagar as IPL auctioneer

The auction has always been a small festival of sorts as both cricketers and general cricket fans want to know which players are picked by their favorite teams. And the job of making the cricketer up for the grab, is of the auctioneer.

For a decade, from 2008-18, Richard Madley conducted the iconic and one of the biggest auctions in the world, the IPL auctions. Madley was succeeded by Hugh Edmeades in 2019, who is a British international fine art, classic car, and charity auctioneer.

There was a scare last year when Edmeades suffered a medical emergency and passed out on the podium and Charu Sharma had to fill in for him in IPL 2022 auction. Edmeades returned for the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi.

However, for IPL 2024, BCCI has appointed Mallika Sagar as the auctioneer and this will be the first time, the IPL auction will be conducted by a female. An art collector from Mumbai, Mallika Sagar, has hosted WPL 2023 and 2024.

The 48-year-old has an experience of auctioning for 25 years, having previously worked with Pro Kabaddi League auctions before making her debut in cricket.

The 2024 auction will start at 1 pm IST on December 19 and will be available on Star Sports for TV users and the Jio Cinema app for all others.

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