The BCCI brass will meet the owners of the 10 IPL franchises on July 31 to discuss the retention policy ahead of the mega auction before the next edition of the tournament.

IPL chief executive Hemang Amin intimated the owners of the meeting on Thursday though the exact venue and timing is yet to be notified. However, it was learnt that the meeting is likely to take place at the renovated Cricket Centre in Mumbai.

There is still no clear indication from the BCCI on the number of retentions which will be allowed per franchise. There have been various suggestions from the franchises in the lead-up to the meeting with the number of retentions varying from four to eight.

The franchises feel higher retentions would allow them continuity in the team building process. Another suggestion has been to have a mega auction every five years instead of the current three.

There has also been varied demands for the contentious Right to Match (RTM) card which was in place during the 2018 mega auction. The RTM card allowed the franchises to buy back their player during the auction by matching the bidding price.

It is understood that the BCCI may allow a maximum of six retentions after discussions with the franchise owners. There had been no RTM card during the last mega auction in 2021 and whether it would be allowed this time is still uncertain.

During the last auction the then eight teams were allowed to retain four players via two different combinations: three Indians and one overseas or two Indians and two overseas.

A majority of the franchise owners are learnt to be in favour of the RTM card which could force the BCCI to consider the option.

Another argument in favour of the RTM card is that it allows the player to be sold at his market value.

There's no doubt that the bulk of the discussions will revolve around the number of retentions and the RTM cards. The much-debated Impact Player rule could also come up for deliberation.

The BCCI faces a tall task of keeping all franchises satisfied.