India, Dec. 16 -- The only thing predictable about every IPL auction, mega or otherwise, is its sheer unpredictability, so why should Tuesday's mini auction be any different?

For the third time on the bounce, the auction has gone overseas. If it was Dubai that hosted the mini auction ahead of IPL 2024 and Jeddah was the scene of furious bidding at the big auction last year, the focus shifts to Abu Dhabi, where the ten franchises will seek to add the resources that they believe will give them the best chance of a shot at top honours.

Teams come armed with strong data-driven strategies, clear in their minds about which player(s) they would like to target and how far they can go in their efforts to secure their services, but such are the d...