Why did the IPL 2025 auction happen in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia?

In an interesting move, the IPL 2025 auction is completed in the Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia. It became the second country to hold an IPL auction after Dubai. While Dubai became the first city outside India to become an Auction venue in 2023, Jeddah joined the list two years later. The IPL auction coincides with Saudi Arabia's growing interest in becoming a major hub of cricket in the Middle East.

Location strategy and infrastructure

As BCCI wants to reach the IPL in more countries and regions. It decided to hold the auction outside India, after thoughtful consideration of Dubai, London and Jeddah.

The BCCI went ahead with Jeddah. The growing relationship between BCCI and Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation (SACF) also played a big role in Saudi Arabia convincing the BCCI to hold the election there. For the venue, Abadi Al Johar Arena was chosen, with its impressive 15,000 seating capacity and the arena's proximity to Hotel Shangri-la, just a 10-minute drive, also becoming one of the reasons for the venue. The proximity helped in better logistics management, ensuring seamless logistics for participating franchises and officials.

Saudi Arabia Cricket Ambitions

This is your division to hold an auction in Saudi Arabia that perfectly aligns with Saudi Arabia's ambitions to become a major cricketing hub. The country has already shown its commitment to Cricket with various initiatives, including sponsorship with state owned companies, Saudi Aramco which is an official sponsor of both ICC events and IPL. The Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation is already working to build cricket infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Broadcast timings

Where is there was a test match between India and Australia going on during the morning time in India so the auction was planned so that the broadcast timings do not overlap and ensure maximum viewership. The Jio Star holds the broadcasting rights for both the events concerned.

Saudi Arabia’s tourism and economic interests

Saudi Arabia is also interested in the Cricket Association it draws a large viewership and holding an event in Saudi Arabia will give an opportunity to showcase the country to the world. Moreover, with Saudi Arabia's ambitions to make Indians its largest source of tourists and with unimaginable cricket following in India, it created a perfect mix for Saudi Arabia's interests. There were also rumours that the Saudi Crown Prince was interested in acquiring a stake in IPL.

As Saudi Arabia has already announced its infrastructure plans for 2025, this IPL Auction opens the door to cricket in the country. After a thoughtful and long process and discussion with stakeholders, BCCI chose the Jeddah for Auction to increase its global footprint.