Multiplayer Draft Guide: The Auction Flow

Multiplayer is a room-based squad auction. The host chooses the roster size, pick timer, overseas limit, and a short or long auction pool. Human players bid against one another, so the player selection works differently from a turn-by-turn snake draft.

Room settings can vary, so check the lobby before the auction begins. Connection quality and service availability can also affect an online game. For the single-player roster method, see how to build a playing XI.

Make or join a room

Create a room to host, or enter a five-character room code to join someone else’s game. The lobby shows who has joined and how many AI teams will fill the remaining places. A room can contain ten teams in total.

The host chooses the room settings; other participants can see them but cannot change them. The starting setup is fifteen roster rounds, a ten-second timer, a four-player overseas limit, and the short auction pool. The host can adjust the available options before starting. More human participants means fewer AI teams are needed.

Choose a room with enough time for everyone to understand the rules before the host starts the auction. The room code is a joining credential for the game session, so share it only with the people you want in the room. The interface includes copy and leave controls; leaving disconnects the local participant from that room flow.

Set the roster rules

The host can choose an eleven-player roster or a fifteen-player roster with a bench. The timer can be five, ten, or fifteen seconds, and the overseas limit can be four or five. The short and long auction pools contain 140 and 320 candidates respectively; these are pool sizes, not the number of players each person selects.

The default is fifteen picks and four overseas players. A different host setting changes the rules for everyone in the room. Before bidding, check the roster count, overseas limit, remaining purse, and the player currently being offered. The room’s overseas rule may differ from the standard single-player limit; the selected XI must follow the room setting.

For a new group, a shorter roster can make choices easier to follow, while a bench-sized roster gives you more options. A longer auction pool offers more candidates, but does not guarantee a particular player will appear or be affordable.

How the order works

When the host starts, the order of teams is randomized. Human players then bid for the player on offer; picks do not alternate back and forth in a snake order. Take part in each auction while it is active, and watch the timer and current highest bid.

AI teams fill some of the remaining roster slots automatically. That process happens separately from the live auction. During an auction, multiple human participants can bid on the same player.

If fewer than ten people join, AI teams fill the remaining places. They also bid during the auction, so expect competition for popular players. Plan around your team’s needs and the room’s roster limits rather than waiting for a personal turn in a rotating list.

Bidding and timers

The auction screen shows the player for sale, current bid, highest bidder, and timer. Starting prices depend on a player’s rating, category, overseas status, and whether they are marked as a marquee or legend. Bid increases vary with the current price. Check the amount shown on screen before raising your bid.

The host sets a five-, ten-, or fifteen-second timer. When it runs out, the auction moves on. Network delays can make countdowns appear slightly different for different players, so use the bid and highest-bidder information shown in the room.

Watch your purse as well as the bid. Each team starts with ₹120 crore. The game keeps ₹20 lakhs available for each unfilled roster place, so you cannot spend the full purse too early. A bid is rejected if it would break that reserve or exceed your roster size.

Automatic picks and AI

When the timer runs out or a roster needs an automatic pick, the game chooses from the remaining available players. It takes the overseas limit into account and may prioritize a wicketkeeper, batter, or bowler when only a few places remain. Ratings are also considered.

Automatic picks are not a reason to ignore the room’s overseas limit when setting your own lineup. Before the match starts, check the selected XI against the limit shown in the lobby; an invalid lineup may be rejected.

AI teams weigh ratings, roles, overseas status, and other player categories when bidding. They may stop pursuing overseas players after reaching the room limit. Their choices are not the same as a human’s budget plan or favorite-player strategy.

Plan your roster and purse

Before the first bid, sketch a role plan for the roster size chosen. If you select fifteen rounds, decide how the additional players will cover injury-free flexibility or match preparation; if you select eleven, each selection directly contributes to the final group. The game roles affect calculated batting and bowling strength. A balanced set of batters, bowlers, and all-rounders gives you more ways to fill a useful XI than a list of the highest names alone.

Make a budget ceiling for each remaining slot. The software enforces a baseline reserve, but it does not decide what your ideal player is worth. A marquee player can have a higher starting price. Higher-rated players may also have different base price brackets. If two roles are still empty with only a few players left to select, holding enough budget to complete a legal roster is more useful than winning an early bidding contest at any cost.

Keep track of overseas players as you bid. When you hit the room limit, additional overseas candidates are filtered from AI picks, and the match center checks the chosen XI. If the lobby setting is five, the room differs from the standard single-player cap of four. To learn the separate single-player team-strength penalty and the room setting, read the overseas guide.

After the auction

Once the roster is complete, review your team and check the lineup before the season starts. The multiplayer match center lets participants choose an XI and may include match preparation, tactics, and a round simulation sequence. The selected playing XI must fit the room’s overseas setting. If a lineup is rejected, count the overseas players first and confirm that the roster has the needed roles.

The room shares lobby updates, picks, bids, lineups, tactics, match results, and chat between participants. If a connection drops, updates may be delayed. Automatic picks can keep some parts of the auction moving, but they do not guarantee that every connection problem resolves without help from the host.

The key to a useful session is to agree on settings, know whether the auction pool is short or long, and plan roles and budget before the timer is running. For the broader mode overview, see Game Modes. To understand which roster combinations can affect strength, read team ratings and chemistry and use the XI-building checklist.