If everything goes as planned, then IPL 2022 will be played from April 2022 to May 2022.
So in that case, IPL 2022 mega auction will most probably take place in January 2022.
Before that, all the teams will have to inform the BCCI about the 4 players they are going to retain by the end of December 2022.
According to the media reports, a member of the IPL governing council has said that the IPL 2022 dateline will be declared in the next 7 to 8 days. Everything will become clear after that and the teams can start preparations after that.
It's also almost certain that the IPL 2022 will be played in India. The last season was also played in India but due to the Covid-19 spread, half of the matches were organized in UAE.