Here starts the auction

Hello everyone and welcome to our IPL 2019 Auction live blog. Get live coverage of IPL Auction 2019. Catch minute by minute real-time live updates of IPL auction 2019 with our cricket experts. Total 350 Players to go under the hammer. KXIP enter Auction with the highest budget.

Over a 1000 players had registered to for the auction but the franchises have collectively only 70 slots to be filled. Before the auction, all the 8 franchises had published a list of players they retained as well as released.

There are a few big names who were released. Yuvraj Singh and Jaydev Unadkat were among those who were released from their respective teams. They will now be the focus in the auction.

Along with them, there are other overseas names who will make an appearance for the first time in the auction. The likes of Shimron Hetmeyer and Oshane Thomas might attract hefty bids.

In all the previous IPl auctions, there was one name that was prominent. Richard Madley was man who took care of the hammer for 11 years. However, the man won’t be seen on the podium this time around. BCCI had decided not to go with Madley this time and a new face will be seen conducting the auction.

As the auction is taking place on a weekday, it might not have attracted plenty of viewers. But BCCI went with a prime time slot to ensure healthy viewing. The auction is scheduled to start at 3PM IST. The grand event is being held in Jaipur for the first time.

The usual faces will be seen present on the franchises’ tables. While the franchises like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings retained the core of the sides, on the other hand, teams like Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals let go of plenty of players and will be looking to rebuild the squad.