How to Run an Online Cricket Auction

Abhinath Jadhav · August 4, 2026

Running a cricket auction online means your team owners don't need to be in the same room — they join from their phone or laptop and bid in real time, while purse tracking happens automatically in the background. Here's the process end to end.

Key Takeaways

  • No shared room needed — each team owner bids from their own device.
  • Purse deduction and validation happen automatically at the moment a player is sold.
  • Role-based access lets you separate who can bid from who can only watch.
  • The process is the same for a 4-team local auction or a 20-team corporate one — only the limits change.

What you need to run it online

Each team owner needs one device (phone, tablet, or laptop) and a stable internet connection — that's the only hardware requirement, since bidding and purse tracking run through the browser rather than any installed software. A video or voice call alongside the auction is optional, not required: the tool itself handles player calling, live bids, and purse deduction independently of any call, and role-based access (Organizer, Cashier, Team Owner) controls who can actually place a bid versus who has view-only access to follow along.

The step-by-step process

  1. 1

    Create your tournament

    Set the number of teams, total player purse, and player limit per team. This becomes the ruleset every team owner sees before bidding starts.

  2. 2

    Register the player pool

    Add players with photos, roles, and base price. Organizers typically split the pool into batches (marquee, all-rounders, batters, bowlers) so the auction has a clear running order.

  3. 3

    Invite team owners

    Team owners join remotely from their own device — no need for everyone to be in the same room. They see live purse balances and bidding in real time.

  4. 4

    Run the live auction

    The organizer calls each player, team owners bid, and the highest bid at close is deducted automatically from that team's purse. No manual tally sheet.

  5. 5

    Review and export results

    Once every player is sold or passed, the final squads and spend per team are available immediately — no reconciling a spreadsheet afterward.

Local society auction vs. corporate tournament

The process above is identical either way — only the scale and the plan limits change:

SetupLocal societyCorporate tournament
Typical team count4 teams8-20 teams
Typical player pool~60 playersLarger pool, longer session
Typical durationOne eveningHalf-day or split across sessions

See pricing for exact team/player limits, the full auction conduct guide for budget-setting and round-structure advice, or the corporate tournament auction checklist if you're running the larger-scale version.

Frequently asked questions

Can team owners join from different locations?

Yes — that's the core difference from an in-room auction. Each team owner logs in from their own device, wherever they are, and sees the same live purse balance and bidding activity as everyone else in real time.

What happens if a team owner loses connection mid-bid?

The auction state lives on the server, not on any one device, so a dropped connection doesn't affect the bid in progress. The team owner rejoins and sees the current price and their remaining purse exactly as it stood — they just can't bid during the gap.

Do all participants need to be on a video call together?

No. A video or voice call is optional for teams that want to talk strategy live, but it's not required to run the auction itself — bidding, purse tracking, and player calling all happen through the tool independently of any call.

Can people watch without bidding?

Yes, using role-based access: Organizer and Cashier roles can manage the auction, Team Owner roles can bid, and anyone else can be given view-only access to follow along without affecting any team's purse.

Create Your Tournament — Free