The IPL 2027 auction is likely to be held in Goa on December 16

The IPL 2027 player auction is likely to be held in Goa on December 16, sources told India Today, bringing the event back to India after three consecutive editions were held overseas.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed this in September that Goa will hold the auction in December. “This year, after holding the IPL auction in three foreign locations, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi last year, we will be holding it in Goa in December,” Saikia told ANI.

The auction was held in Dubai in 2023, Jeddah in November 2024 and Abu Dhabi in December 2025, making the event three consecutive editions outside India.

IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal had earlier said BCCI wanted to bring the auction back to India but struggled to find a suitable venue during the busy wedding season.

“Every year we try to make it happen in India, but due to the heavy wedding season, we don’t manage to do it. So we definitely want it to be here this year as it will be a smaller auction and hopefully we can get the venue,” Dhumal told PTI.

The December auction is expected to be a smaller event, unlike the mega-auction held in November 2024 in Jeddah ahead of the 2025 and 2026 seasons. It will be the last mini-auction of the current cycle, with franchises required to submit lists of retained and released players by 15 November 2026.

The proposed auction date coincides with India’s ODI against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on December 16. We’ll see if the match date changes.

There were also reports that the venue for the first ODI, scheduled for December 13 in New Delhi, might change. However, the BCCI recently denied plans to shift the match.

The BCCI is also seeking fresh feedback from IPL franchises on the Impact Player rule, which was discussed at the recent Board of Governors meeting.

The rule allows teams to introduce a substitute at any stage of a match and is currently set to remain in place until 2027.

This drew criticism from several prominent players, including India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, former captain Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. The main problem is that the rule limits the role of true all-rounders as teams can bring in specialist batsmen or bowlers depending on the match situation.

The issue was also discussed ahead of IPL 2026, with several captains reportedly raising concerns with the BCCI and calls for the rule to be scrapped growing louder.

Dhumal said the council would consult with stakeholders before making a decision on its future.

“The matter is under discussion. We will take feedback from all stakeholders and then take a call about it,” he said.

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