IPL 2027 auction to return to India after three editions abroad, says Arun Dhumal

Arun Dhumal said on September 16, 2026 that the IPL players' auction for the 2027 season will return to India after three editions were held overseas, and that the BCCI is keen to bring the event back home.

The previous three auctions took place in Dubai, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi, with the 2025 mega auction held in Jeddah. "Every year we try for this to happen in India, but we don't get the venue given the heavy marriage season. So, we definitely want it to be here this year, given that it would be a smaller auction and hopefully we will get the venue," Dhumal told PTI. The host city for the auction will be decided based on the availability of the BCCI's preferred venue.

The contentious Impact Player rule was discussed at a recent IPL Governing Council meeting, with the BCCI seeking fresh feedback from the franchises. The rule is currently scheduled to remain in place until the 2027 season, but the BCCI is open to reviewing it. "The matter is under discussion. Will take feedback from all the stakeholders and then take a call on this," he said. The Impact Player rule allows teams to substitute a player at any stage of an IPL match.

Several prominent players, including India's ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill, former captain Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, have expressed reservations about the rule. One concern raised by critics is that the rule dilutes the role of genuine all-rounders. Ahead of IPL 2026, a majority of captains had also conveyed their reservations about the Impact Player rule to the BCCI, prompting renewed calls for it to be scrapped.

Arun Dhumal is set to be re-elected as IPL chairman at the BCCI Annual General Meeting on September 18. Khairul Majumdar is also set to be re-elected to the IPL Governing Council alongside Dhumal during the BCCI AGM this week.

The BCCI will collect stakeholder feedback before taking a decision on the Impact Player rule, and the auction's host city will be finalised based on the availability of the preferred venue, with those matters to be settled around the BCCI Annual General Meeting on September 18.