The mega auction for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is expected to take place either in December this year or January, 2022 and with two new all set to be added to the league’s roster, the main issue has been the number of players a franchise can retain ahead of the auction.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, discussions on the issue took place between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the franchise owners following which it was decided that a franchise can retain up to three Indian players and two overseas players with the overall count for retained players not crossing four.
“A team is set to be allowed to keep up to three Indian and two foreign players with the total number of retentions not exceeding four. There may also be a cap on retaining uncapped players – a team will not be allowed more than two,” the report stated.
“It is learnt that the player purse will be INR 90 crore, and in the subsequent two years, there will be an incremental hike and the purse will go up to INR 95 crore and INR 100 crore. If a franchisee chooses to retain four players, it will have to spend around 40-45 percent of its purse, leaving it INR 36-40 crore lesser than the franchise that doesn’t opt to retain any player,” it added.
The report further said that an official announcement on the retention rules will be done as soon as the two new franchises are finalised.
Notably, the sale of the two new teams is likely to take place on October 25 in Dubai.
Recently, IPL 2021 champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni had hinted that he will play the next season of the lucrative league while his franchise had reportedly said that a decision on whether to retain the talismanic skipper will be taken only after knowing the rules of the system.
Dhoni had said that he hadn’t decided how he would fit into the retention scheme of things and after his side defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the summit clash of IPL 2021, he had said: “Again I’ve said it before, it depends on the BCCI. With two new teams coming in, we have to decide what is good for CSK.”
“It’s not about me being there in the top-three or four. It’s about making a strong core to ensure the franchise doesn’t suffer. The core group, we have to have a hard look to see who can contribute for the next 10 years,” he had added.
Later, former BCCI president and India Cements Ltd (ICL) vice-chairman N Srinivasan had emphatically said that there is no CSK without their current skipper Dhoni.
When he was asked about Dhoni’s future with the Yellow Brigade, Srinivasan had said: “Dhoni is part and parcel of CSK. There is no CSK without Dhoni and there is no Dhoni without CSK.”
Meanwhile, Dhoni, 40, in an event celebrating 75 years of India Cements, had said that he hopes to play his last match in Chennai.
“When it comes to farewell, you can still come and see me play for CSK and that can be my farewell game. So, you will still get that opportunity to bid me farewell. Hopefully, we will come to Chennai and play my last game over there and we can meet the fans there,” Dhoni said while interacting with fans during the virtual event.