The players' auction for the next Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held at Kolkata for the first time, on December 19. The West Bengal capital is home to the Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. The auctions have mostly been held in Bengaluru so far.  The trading window that is currently open will close on November 14, and all the franchises were informed about it on Monday, according to a report in 'ESPNCricinfo'. While the franchises were allotted Rs 82 crore each for the IPL 2019, Rs 85 crore has been allocated for the 2020 season.

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Last auction before mega auctions next year

The franchises were originally allotted Rs 85 crore to build their teams for 2020. Every franchise will also have an additional purse of Rs three crore in addition to the balance in their kitties from the last auction. Delhi Capitals have the biggest balance -- Rs 8.2 crore, followed by Rajasthan Royals at Rs 7.15 crore and Kolkata Knight Riders at Rs 6.05 crore. This year's auction is the last one before the franchises disband next year and prepare to assemble fresh squads from 2021 at a mega auction. The glitzy event usually runs between April and May every year.

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Funds left with franchises ahead of IPL 2020 auction:

Chennai Super Kings - Rs 3.2 crore, Delhi Capitals - Rs 7.7 crore, Kings XI Punjab - Rs 3.7 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders - Rs 6.05 crore, Mumbai Indians - Rs 3.55 crore, Rajasthan Royals - Rs 7.15 crore, Royal Challengers Bangalore - Rs 1.80 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad - Rs 5.30 crore. 

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KKR confirms appointing Brendon McCullum as the head coach

That's correct. In fact, the news has been confirmed by the Kolkata franchise on Twitter in their media release. The former champions wrote that it was the announcement that everyone was waiting for and also urged the fans welcome McCullum on board as the new head coach. It has also been written that the 37-year-old has been very closely associated with the Knight Riders franchise as a player from 2008 to 2010 and once again from 2012-13 when the franchise which is co-owned by the 'King of Bollywood' Shah Rukh Khan had won their maiden title. The Knight Riders also highlighted Baz's additional achievements in franchise cricket which include winning two consecutive Caribbean Premier League (CPL) titles for Trinbago Knight Riders (TBK) in 2017 and 2018 respectively. 

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