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On Tuesday afternoon the IPL auction will take place in Jaipur. This is the second IPL auction in 2018 and ESPNcricinfo presents a lowdown on the event. Another IPL auction? A second in 12 months?
Yes, the IPL will have a second auction this year. The first, a big auction in January, saw franchises spend big bucks to build teams brick-by-brick for the 2018 season. The auction on Tuesday will be a far smaller exercise, where a majority of the franchises will be going in for target buys. So why is there a second IPL auction in less than 12 months?
Usually the auction takes place in January/February. However, this year the BCCI chose to hold the auction in December to allow franchises enough time to prepare for the early start of IPL 2019. Considering the ODI World Cup begins on May 30 in the UK, and with teams needing enough preparation time, the IPL is likely to start on March 23 and finish by mid-May.  When will the auction begin?
At 1530 IST. Tell me more about the specifics of this auction?
There are a maximum of 70 slots available to the eight franchises, of which a maximum of 20 can be filled by overseas players with the remaining filled by Indian players. Franchises will make their pick from the auction pool comprising 346 players. It is mandatory that every franchise have a minimum squad strength of 18 and a maximum of 25. What about the purse?
Every franchise will have a purse of INR 2 crore in addition to the balance kitty from the January auction. Kings XI Punjab have the deepest pockets with a purse of INR 36.2 crore, followed by the re-christened Delhi Capitals at INR 25.5 crore. It is mandatory that every franchise spends a minimum INR 61.5 crores out of their total purse of INR 82 crores. Anything else I should know about this auction?
One key determining factor coaches and owners will focus on is availability. With the World Cup following close on the heels of the IPL, most of the top overseas players will return home closer to the final stages. Barring New Zealand, West Indies and Afghanistan, all other boards have restricted the availability of their players so far. 
By the way, where will the IPL be held?
That is yet to be confirmed. With India having federal elections around April-May next year, there is no clarity on whether the BCCI can conduct the IPL simultaneously in the country. The BCCI has opted to wait until around the third week of January before it finalises the venue. At the moment, the board has chalked out three plans: the first one has the entire IPL being played in India. The second one involves displacing the tournament completely to an overseas venue with South Africa the frontrunner, keeping in mind the numerous grounds there that will allow every franchise to have its own home base. The third plan involves conducting a majority of the IPL in India, with a part of the tournament to be played overseas. If the third option is finalised, then the UAE has been earmarked as one of the overseas venues along with South Africa.
Anything else?
A minor fact. For more than a decade Richard Madley took pride and joy in bringing down the gavel as the IPL auctioneer. However, to his dismay, and for reasons he is not aware of, the BCCI has replaced him with Hugh Edmeades, another independent professional auctioneer.
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