IPL 2025 Mega Auction: When Will Faf du Plessis Come for Bidding at the Mega Auction?

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The mega auction for IPL 2025 is being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, commencing on November 24th, 2024. The auction features a total pool of 574 cricketers, with 366 Indian players and 208 international players, providing franchises with options from both capped and uncapped player categories.

The first day of the mega auction remained eventful as Shreyas Iyer was signed by PBKS for Rs. 26.75 crores, which became the highest buy of all time in IPL history, just to get surpassed by the bidding price of Rishabh Pant, who got sold to LSG for Rs. 27 crores.

However, after the first-day auction, none of the teams reached the minimum limit needed to build their squads within specific guidelines - maintaining the squad between 18 to 25 players, with a maximum of 8 overseas players allowed. The auction features various base price categories, ranging from Rs. 30 lakhs to Rs. 2 crore, with 81 players positioned in the premium Rs. 2 crore bracket.

Faf du Plessis, the South African legendary batter, though in his 40s, remains relevant in modern-day cricket for his leadership quality, consistency, experience and ability to score in any situation. These qualities make him an invaluable asset in limited-over cricket.

Starting his IPL journey in 2012, the 40-year-old experienced batsman devoted much of his career to Chennai Super Kings. During his tenure with CSK, he played an integral role across multiple seasons, contributing to their championship victories in 2011, 2018, and 2021.

The seasoned batsman transitioned to RCB in 2022 with a contract worth Rs. 7 crore, where he continued to deliver strong performances. His 2023 season was particularly noteworthy, accumulating 730 runs across 14 matches and securing the position of second-highest run-scorer that season. In the subsequent IPL, he assumed the captaincy of RCB and successfully guided the team to the playoffs.

Throughout his IPL tenure, Du Plessis has amassed 4571 runs in 145 matches, maintaining consistent performance levels. His combination of solid batting technique and exceptional fielding abilities has established him as a reliable match-winner. Additionally, his tactical understanding and leadership qualities make him an effective captain.

IPL 2025 Auction: When Can Faf du Plessis's Bidding Start?

The second day of the mega auction for IPL 2025 will commence at 3:30 PM Indian Standard Time (1:00 PM Jeddah local time). The auction will start with Set 13, or the second set of the batters category consisting of seven players. This set includes prominent names like Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rovman Powell, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Kane Williamson.

All the players in this list are prominent figures in international cricket and have achieved many milestones in their careers over the years. Hence, intense competition among franchises is anticipated during the bidding process, which could extend the duration of the auction. Since Faf du Plessis is placed in the opening set, his auction will take place in the early stages, beginning from 3:30 PM IST.

With seven players in the first set, if Plessis' name appears last in the sequence, his bidding is likely to start around 4:10 PM IST. Therefore, the bidding for the South African batter is expected to occur between 3:30 PM and 4:15 PM IST.

N.B.: The timeline of a player's arrival at the auction table is based on assumptions related to the IPL auction and the player's position in the shortlist. The aforementioned time can change as per auction dynamics.