IPL Auction 2018: Start Time, Players List and Remaining Budgets

The IPL auction in 2018 is set to be even more significant and extravagant than ever.

There will be a pool of 578 players going under the hammer at Bangalore's Ritz-Carlton in India on Saturday, Jan 27 and Sunday, Jan. 28, a group comprised of 360 Indians and 218 overseas players.

Proceedings will start at 9 a.m. IST (3:30 a.m. GMT) and as many as 198 players could be sold in the course of the auction as all eight franchises look to build a title-winning team and add stars to the players they have already retained.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are both making comebacks to the tournament after two-year suspensions and will be eager to make big impressions. 

Per Star Sports, Ravi Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson and Joe Root are among the marquee players likely to be widely coveted:

"

The VIVO #IPLauction is just days away, and these are the Marquee players who'll have the teams digging deep into their pockets! Which of these would you like to see in your favourite team? pic.twitter.com/ikr7iJyuiu

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 21, 2018"

The full list of players up for auction can be found at IPLT20.com, while the Times of India provided the remaining budgets for each side ahead of the auction. 

Right-to-match cards are likely to play a key role in the weekend's auction proceedings as each franchise will have the option of matching any bid for a player who they did not decide to retain previously.

RTM cards will be restricted to three per side, and only two if a franchise has already retained three players. Full restrictions can be found at IPLT20.com. 

It is likely to add intrigue to the auction given the status of players the cards will be used to snap up.

Interestingly, CSK will not be able to use one of their two available RTM cards to sign up the highly valued Ashwin as they have already retained three capped Indian players: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja.

However, Dhoni confirmed CSK will attempt to sign up the 31-year-old all-rounder and also picked out a number of other players on their radar, per Cricbuzz:

"It's always a tough call. We will definitely go for him in the auction. Ashwin being a local lad ... we want a lot of local players in the side. We have somebody like a [Dwayne] Bravo, Faf [du Plessis] and Brendon McCullum [on the radar].

"Ashwin will come first in the auction, but as I said I have to wait and watch. I can't put any number to it, but we will try to get him for the reasons I have said, but at an auction it's the price that dictates the terms."

The IPL auction is one of the most fascinating player drafts in sport, and the 2018 edition is set to be the most entertaining yet given the volume and quality of players up for grabs.

Once proceedings have wrapped up and the rosters have been set, players, fans and coaches alike can begin to look forward to the on-field action getting under way on April 7.