Major changes coming in IPL mega auction and retentions? BCCI summons urgent meeting with IPL team owners

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called for a meeting with all the 10 IPL team owners on April 16th in Ahmedabad, as per Cricbuzz. This meeting will take place when Delhi Capitals lock horns with 2022 champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi stadium from 7:30 onwards. The apex board’s call for a meeting has come within just a week of the 2024 edition where 13 matches out of the scheduled 74 have already been played.

A particular reason for this sudden call for meeting has not been mentioned but it is being said that the BCCI is keen on discussing the future of the league with all its franchise owners. Indian Premier League CEO Hemang Amin told a source close to the board that in this meeting, the “way forward” of the richest T20 league globally, will be talked about. Things like how to improve the system, how to sustain the league for the future as well as salary caps could be the hot topics.

In this meeting, only the franchise owners along with their operational teams and people at higher posts will be allowed. Unlike the auctions where we often see team head coaches, mentors as well as captains present at the table, this meeting won’t have anyone other than franchise officials. The BCCI has sent invitations to owners of CSK, DC, LSG, KKR, mlRR, RCB, GT, SRH, and PBKS.

What could be discussed in the meeting organized by BCCI?

A lot could be in the cards for discussion in the meeting called by BCCI, as per Cricbuzz. While it has not been revealed as of now what exactly will be discussed but since the franchise owners have been invited, the salary cap could be the first thing that will be introduced. Of late, plenty of cries and questions have been going around about the introduction of a strict salary cap on franchises to make limited use of their money on a certain player.

Last year in December when the IPL mini-auction took place in Dubai’s Coca-Cola arena, we saw one of the biggest amounts being paid to players. Mitchell Starc drew 24.75 crores, Pat Cummins amassed 20.50 crores and then there were other players who bagged lucrative deals.

The next topic of discussion could be the number of player retentions during the mega auction, which is something that a lot of franchises are currently unhappy about. As of now, teams are allowed to retain only 4 players as it was used during the 2022 mega auction. Certain franchises are of the view that retentions should be increased to 8 players so that their core members can still be a part while other owners are totally opposed to the view.

So a particular number in terms of player retentions will also be discussed at length by the BCCI officials. In the same context, the Right to Match card (RTM) which allows owners to match another franchise’s offer on a certain player that represented them in a previous season but was not retained, could be making a return. It is worth noting that RTM was not there during the 2022 mega auction.

BCCI President Roger Binny, Honorable Secretary Jay Shah, and IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal to be present at the meeting

The meeting will also involve BCCI president Roger Binny as well as the board’s honorable secretary Jay Shah along with IPL chairman Arun Dhumal. It will be these 3 and the IPL CEO Hemang Amin, who will bring the topics out and solve all problems on April 16.