The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will go ahead with the mega auction later this year, Kolkata Knight Riders’ principal owner Shah Rukh Khan’s tirade against the accepted practice during Wednesday’s meeting with the franchise owners notwithstanding.
The meeting at the Cricket Centre in Mumbai was a stormy affair with Shah Rukh and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Kavya Maran speaking for continuity which they felt was a vital aspect for team building and brand promotion, besides fan loyalty.
The BCCI brass though is not reading much into it and could allow 6-8 players as part of the retention policy at the mega auction.
Sources told The Telegraph that the BCCI is contemplating a mix of retentions and Right to Match (RTM) cards which would allow the franchises the option to retain at least eight players.
Delhi Capitals’ Parth Jindal has, however, made it clear that he is all for mega auction every three years.
“There was a debate. Some people said that there should not be a mega auction at all... I’m not in that camp. I feel that it evens the playing field and it’s very good for everyone. It makes the IPL what it is. It makes it competitive,” Jindal said.
There was also a suggestion from certain quarters that franchises should be allowed to negotiate the retention amounts with the players instead of the normal practice of placing them on retention slabs. Till the last mega auction, players were put in four different slabs of ₹16, ₹12, ₹8 and ₹6 crore.
It was learnt that at least two franchises have demanded seven retentions and another pressed for eight at the meeting. There was a request to also not impose any cap on the number of overseas and Indian players during retention. Last time, the BCCI permitted the teams to retain a maximum of three Indian and two foreign players.
KKR are believed to have proposed that a franchise should be allowed to keep at least eight players via a combination of retention and RTM cards.
The RTM card gives the franchises an opportunity to buy a player back, who they could not retain, by matching the highest bidder at the auction.
How the BCCI maintains a balance between the number of retentions and RTM cards remains to be seen.
Another aspect which led to lot of bickering among the owners was the much-debated Impact Player rule. The BCCI is likely to retain it for another season despite opposition from certain players, including Rohit Sharma.
Dhoni future
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also waiting for the BCCI to come out with its retention policy before deciding on his future.
“There is a lot of time for it,” Dhoni said at an event in Hyderabad recently.
“We have to see what decision they take on player retention etc. Right now, the ball is not in our court.
“So, once the rules and regulations get formalised, I will take a call.”