The Indian Premier League opens its "mega-auction" later Sunday in Saudi Arabia with teams primed to splash out millions of dollars on world-class cricketers for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

The Indian Premier League is the most popular and richest domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in the world. The players from March to May are treated as rock stars. On Sunday, Rishabh Pant, India's swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter,

The two-day auction beginning Sunday in Jeddah is the first cricketing event of this stature to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, a country with an under-served fanbase for the sport among millions of South Asian migrant workers.

Saudi Arabia hosts this year's Indian Premier League player auction in a partnership between a money-spinning cricket tournament expanding its global reach and a kingdom using sports to improve its image.

Among the standout names are Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul, part of the 12 marquee players. These three captains were released by their respective franchises ahead of the retention deadline.

Josh Hazlewood made headlines on Day 1 of the 2025 IPL mega-auction, more than doubling his previous IPL auction price. The Aussie pace spearhead was picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore, making him the most expensive Australian signing of the day.

With the Saudis rolling out the red carpet, it should be an event to savour, and surely a sign of things to come.

Here are the full squads and the remaining purse of all 10 IPL teams after two days of bidding during the Indian Premier League auction held in Jeddah.