The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still undecided on the retention rule for the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will have a mega auction before the 2025 edition, but it is understood that the Indian cricket board has not shut the door on the existing 3+1 rule. There are plenty of backers of the existing three retentions and one Right to Match (RTM) card arrangement and not every franchise is in favour of sudden increase in retentions and RTMs.
A senior official in a IPL franchise said only handful of franchises can retain 6-8 players but it’s not the case with every franchise. He added that auctions are an important part of the IPL and increasing retentions would make it a useless exercise.
“Increasing retentions to say 6 or eight and then also having RTMs will make auctions a useless exercise. Auctions have added to the beauty of the IPL and giving it lesser importance will not help in keeping the league in good health,” says a veteran team official.
The house has remained divided on the ideal arrangement ahead of the mega auction and some teams have raised the concern of not getting a loyal fan base due to regular movement of players. Till date, very few players, namely Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, have played for only one team. It is a valid concern but it’s unlikely to be addressed without getting rid of the auction and starting a draft system, and then a transfer window of sorts.
“Yes, that’s a concern for a lot of teams but we can’t compare fan bases in IPL to fan bases of EPL clubs. It’s still too early for that to happen in the IPL. That is why it has happened to only handful of teams in the IPL. It will take time. And if there is desperation to make that happen, get rid of the auction and introduce a draft. Let there be a transfer system. Again, auctions bring a flavour to the IPL,” adds the official.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ CEO Venky Mysore had a unique suggestion to address the situation and he felt eight RTM cards for every team will allow players to get the auction value and give the teams an opportunity to buy them back. Harsha Bhogle, in one of his Youtube videos, revealed Mysore’s suggestion but this too will affect the auction dynamics.
Another senior official of a team which invests a lot in scouting and spends a lot of time in grooming players even when the IPL is not on, batted for increase in retentions and said even the teams which have struggled this season seemed to have identified their core.
“Certain teams have not done well this season. Take Punjab Kings for instance, they didn’t qualify but have a solid few players in the mix. Players they scouted and invested their energies in. So even for those teams, increased retentions make sense and help in maintaining continuity,” says official of a team.
The BCCI top brass was supposed to meet the team owners during the 2024 edition of the IPL to discuss the way forward but the meet was cancelled. The owners haven’t been informed on a new date yet and they are not expecting it to happen during the T20 World Cup. Some teams were told about a possibility of the meeting happening in June but nothing has been decided yet.
Apart from the retention rule, the Impact Player will also be up for discussion as many, from captain Rohit Sharma to coaches of different franchises, have felt it is making the game very batter-dominated.
During an interaction with reporters in Mumbai earlier this month, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said they will hold a review and take a call after the World Cup.
“Impact Player is like a test case. We have implemented it slowly. The biggest advantage of it is that two Indian players are getting a chance, which is the most important,” Shah said. “We will consult with the players, franchises, broadcasters. This is not permanent (but) I am not saying that it will go. We will decide after the World Cup,” added Shah.
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