After the exciting 2021 season, fans are eagerly waiting for the mega auction ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Recently, two new teams were added to the cash-rich league after Company Pte Limited (CVC Capital) and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group shelled out a combined INR 12,715 crore to acquire Ahmedabad and Lucknow, franchise respectively.
Before the team could flex their muscles in the mega auction, possibly next year, the rules regarding retention of players have been released.
As per these regulations reported by ESPNCricinfo, the eight existing franchises can retain a maximum of four players in two different combinations. One is, of course, two Indians and as many overseas players, while the other combination consists of three Indians and one foreign player.
Notably, the three Indians retained by franchises can all be capped, all uncapped or a mix of both. Further, Also, unlike the previous big auction ahead of the 2018 season, there will be no right-to-match cards (RTM) at the auction for 2022.
When it comes to the two new franchises – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – they will be able to acquire three players from the rest of the player pool before the 2022 auction. However, the IPL Governing Council hasn’t yet specified a combination of two Indian players and one overseas or anything else for the new franchises.
Also, this remains unclear whether these players will be picked only from the group of players not retained by the existing franchises or can be taken from the larger auction pool – which will have new additions – ahead of the 2022 auction.
Although in the past, a similar situation arose when two new teams – Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions – replaced Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two seasons. Back then, a player-draft system was put in place, where Supergiants were given the first preference on the grounds of having made the largest bid during the auction for the two new franchises.
