Franchises Are Allowed To Retain 4 Players Ahead Of IPL 2022 Mega Auction: BCCI

While cricket fans across the world are eagerly waiting for Phase-2 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, scheduled to be held in the UAE, the top brass of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is busy preparing for the mega auction to be held later this year.

The mega T20 league will undergo much transition next season which also includes tournament expansion. Two new franchises are expected to make a way, turning IPL a 10-team event.

As per reports, the salary purse is set to be increased from Rs. 85 crore to Rs. 90 crore in the upcoming auction. The 10 teams will need to spend at least 75% of the allotted purse. Interestingly, over the next three years, the purse will increase up to Rs. 100 crore. With the salary purse being increased, the player retention tally might see a slight change going forward.

As reported by the Times of India, ahead of next year’s mega auction, the franchises would be allowed to retain a maximum of four players each. As per the conditions, the team management can either retain three Indian players and one overseas player or two Indian players and two overseas players. The franchises would deduct the salaries of these four players before entering the auction.

“Some players may like the idea of not wanting to be retained and will want to head into the auction pool. That’s because there’s an increase in the salary purse and two new teams are being added. So, there’ll be a rush to grab talent. Expect some leading Indian cricketers to forward their names for the auction,” those tracking developments told TOI.

Initially, the mega auction was to be held ahead of IPL 2021 but with franchises suffering losses due to the pandemic and also with not much time gap between IPL 2020 and 2021, the mega auction was postponed by a year.

The mega auction is expected to be held in December this year, after the conclusion of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the two new franchises are expected to be announced by October.

Among those who have shown interest in buying new IPL teams are Kolkata-based RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, the Adani group based in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, and the Torrent Group from Gujarat.