With the mini-auction ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) inching closer, franchises looking to retain players must complete the process by Jan. 20.

Indian players who don’t have a contract and wish to be a part of the auction will need to fill the player auction agreement and submit it online by Feb. 4 (5 pm IST). The originals can be sent by post till Feb. 12.

In a mail sent to the State Associations, IPL COO and interim BCCI CEO Hemang Amin explained the whole process through which an Indian player (whether capped or uncapped) may register to be able to play in the 2021 edition of the cash-rich league. He added that the process wasn’t applicable for players who have an ongoing contract or may get a contract extension prior to the auction.

Having explained the process of registration from the State Association’s side, Amin further wrote how the interested player can complete the process.

“When the above registration is initiated by the State Association, it will generate an email to the player with their login details so they can complete the registration process. Once registered, in order to express their interest in playing in the IPL 2021, the player should login to the online registration system.

“They will be required to complete all the fields and download and complete the IPL 2021 Player Auction Agreement. Once completed, the agreement must be uploaded back to the online registration system and the original sent or delivered to their respective State Association. Please note physical signature of player is required on original auction agreement,” he pointed.

In order to ensure the timely process of the applications, the IPL COO has asked the Associations to send the IPL 2020 Player Auction Agreements in batches. “An Indian U19 player may only register for IPL 2021 Player Auction if the player is registered as a player with a State Association and has played in at least one match in either First Class cricket or List A cricket. For the 2021 Season, a U19 player is one who was born on or after 1 April 2002,” the mail said. “Any uncapped player who has retired from domestic cricket, can only submit his auction agreement for player registration after getting written approval from BCCI.”