Two IPL team owners have floated the idea of having next edition’s players’ auction in England but the suggestion could not find favour with the majority of the franchises during a meeting with the BCCI in Mumbai.
“Yes, there were discussions whether we could shift this year’s auction abroad. A couple of franchise owners suggested England as this will be a big auction with most players back in the pool. However, a majority of the members want it to be held in India,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
It was after a long time that majority of the owners turned up for a discussion over lunch with the IPL governing council members.
“The meeting was well attended. Delhi Daredevils owner GM Rao, Mumbai Indians’ Akash Ambani, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shah Rukh Khan and Jay Mehta, Kings XI Punjab’s Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia were present. Rajasthan Royals was represented by Manoj Badale while CSK’s representative John George,” the official informed.
Top IPL teams including defending champions Mumbai Indians are in favour of retaining five top players of their existing squads. However, Rajasthan Royals are against the retention policy. Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils have asked for match cards instead of retention.
Besides five retentions, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are also asking for two match cards – which will enable the team to buy the players back either on a higher or a lower price from the auction.
Kings XI Punjab have sought for two match cards to ensure that the team gets their old players to retain their fan base.
Also as per the media reports, KKR representatives have raised an issue over CSK getting to retain their original top players like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo when they are supposed to start from scratch after serving the two-year ban.
Interestingly, the Royals, who are the other team to have been suspended, aren’t affected because they are preparing to start their IPL season on a clean slate.
