Having a mini auction instead of a big player auction is the view of the majority of the IPL team owners who met with the top brass of the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council members in Mumbai on Wednesday evening. A majority of the teams who are part of the tournament since its inception are keen on continuity and have made a strong pitch to have the big auctions in a 4 or 5 year cycle. With the mood among the franchises very clear, the ball is now in the BCCI court to decide.
Citing the last two big player auctions which were held in a four year cycle (2018 and 2022), some of the top franchises have informed the BCCI that they are not keen on losing their key talents at this stage, especially after investing in them over the last three years. In case the BCCI goes for a big player auction, franchises fear that all the investment they put in those talents will not give them any returns. It is reliably learnt that Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan is among those who are in favour of not having big auctions this year. Apart from KKR, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans are pushing for the big auctions to be postponed.
“I was surprised. There was a debate. Some people didn’t want big auctions. They wanted only small auctions. I’m not in that camp as it evens out the playing field. It makes the IPL competitive. Not all of us are on the same page in a lot of it. The BCCI in their wisdom will decide,” Parth Jindal told reporters soon after the meeting.
Even prior to the meeting, it was clear that all the franchises were keen on continuity and were pushing for 5-6 retentions and as many Right to Match (RTM) options. If that wasn’t enough, some franchises also wanted a separate retention cap on uncapped Indian players as well. But according to those who attended the meeting even before the topic came up for discussions, the top teams wanted the big auctions to be postponed for now. Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are keen on having big player auctions this time.
The main reason for other franchises to postpone the auctions is, they have a strong academy culture and they all have invested heavily in their talent and scouting programme. And in case there is a big auction, they may not be able to retain those players who are currently being groomed
For example, Rajasthan have invested a lot on the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and if the number of retentions is just 5, then they will have take a few tough calls as they also have Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal in their ranks.
Similarly, Mumbai have Tilak Varma, Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera to go with Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya. Even the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have the likes of Harshit Rana, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy to go with Andre Russell, Sunil Narine.
Even Chennai who prefer experienced players have been nurturing the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Sameer Rizvi, Ajay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar with an eye on the future.
These teams routinely have camps even in the off-season to take stock of their fitness levels. Some of these teams have also spent big money when it comes to tracking their day to development with regards to fitness and diet plans. Considering all the investments they have made on these talents, the franchises have informed the BCCI that to break the cycle will not be rewarding for the good work they have put in.
While there are some franchises who are keen on having big player auctions, they are outnumbered at this stage. Even Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad who have a young squad at their disposal, are keen on retaining their core group.
It is also learnt that no unanimous decision was arrived at with regards to the Impact Player rule.
All the franchise owners except for Mumbai Indians were present physically in the meeting. MI owners joined via video conference.
