IPL Franchise Owners & BCCI Meeting Highlights: Retentions, RTM cards and mega auctions

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recently held a meeting with the owners of the various IPL franchises. Held at the BCCI office, the meeting discussed many points concerning the retentions for the upcoming season of the IPL. There were also discussions about whether the RTM cards should be brought back into action; furthermore, the frequency of the mega auctions and the purse were among the other things discussed. 

From Parth Jindal (DC) to Kavya Maran (SRH), Shah Rukh Khan (KKR), Manoj Badale and Ranjit Barthakur (Rajasthan Royals), Kiran Gandhi (DC), Rupa Gurunath and Kasi Viswanathan (CSK), Prathmesh Mishra and Rajesh Menon (RCB), Sanjiv Goenka and Shashwat Goenka (LSG), Ness Wadia (Punjab Kings), Amit Soni (Gujarat Titans) and Akash Ambani (Mumbai Indians) were the people present at the meeting.

One of the biggest points discussed was the impact player rule. The rule was introduced to give more playing time to uncapped Indian players, helping them get exposure. However, it was argued that it does not provide for a level playing field. 

Delhi Capitals’ co-owner Parth Jindal came forward and argued against the Impact Player rule, opining that it should be scrapped from the IPL 2025 and that traditional 11v11 matches should take place. “I don't want it. I prefer the game as it is 11 versus 11, and I think all-rounders are very important. And you have different players who don't bowl in the IPL or don't bat in the IPL because of this rule, which is not good for Indian cricket,” Jindal was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

Retentions become major talking point amidst franchises

On the other hand, retentions were discussed quite heavily in the meeting. It has been reported that Sunrisers Hyderabad’s owner, Kavya Maran, has asked for seven retentions due to SRH having some big names on their side like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Reddy, and T Natarajan. Furthermore, Maran had also asked the BCCI to not impose a cap on the number of overseas as well as capped and uncapped Indians a franchise could retain after the retention number has been fixed.

Kolkata Knight Riders also suggested as many as eight players to be brought back exclusively via the RTM method. Maran had also stated at the meeting that the franchises should be given the option to discuss with the player beforehand whether they want to be retained prior to the auction or via the RTM option.

It is interesting to note that the RTM was previously used in the IPL 2018 mega auction but was omitted in 2022. Kavya Maran stated that a player could be paid better if they opt to go for the RTM option in the auction. Furthermore, DC’s Parth Jindal observed that many franchises were not on the same page in the meeting. He also expressed his surprise over how some franchises wanted the mega auctions scrapped. 

Maran was one of the few who was in favour of having the mega auction once every five years. She also proposed having just a mini-auction for the 2025 season.