The purpose of the meeting with IPL franchise owners was to go over the procedures and quantity of retentions in advance of the super auction. It became a discussion about the viability and future of large-scale auctions. Following a contentious discussion among certain franchises in the conference room located on the fourth floor of the BCCI headquarters at Wankhede Stadium, the board said that it will notify the teams of its decision within the upcoming weeks.
Several voices were raised in opposition to the’mega auction,’ with Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shah Rukh Khan and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Kavya Maran, both of whom were IPL 2024 finalists who clearly want to keep their high-performing teams. Their argument, however, has been that teams require consistency for brand development and fan engagement.
According to a key BCCI source who attended the meeting, Shah Rukh made a strong argument against the mammoth auction. At one point, the KKR owner was said to be having a furious fight with Ness Wadia, the co-owner of Punjab Kings, about the amount of retentions.
Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals was one among those who objected to too many retentions. “I was surprised that there was debate on whether to hold the big auction,” he stated. “Some argue that there should be no big auction at all. There should be no larger auctions. That is not my point of view. I believe it levels the playing field and is beneficial to all. It defines the IPL. It enhances its competitiveness. It provides an even playing field. We’ve discovered that team owners do not want the auction. It’s only a few owners.” Jindal has expressed opposition to the retention of the Impact Player rule, which has caused division in the IPL community. “Some people want it because it allows young players to compete in the IPL. Some people oppose it because it would be damaging to Indian cricket’s development of all-rounders. So it’s a bit of a mix. I belong in the second camp. I don’t want to. I prefer the game to be XI vs XI. All-rounders, in my opinion, are crucial. Because of this regulation, there are several players who do not bowl or bat in the IPL, which is bad for Indian cricket,” he stated.Kiran Kumar Grandhi of Delhi Capitals, Sanjiv Goenka of Lucknow Super Giants, Rupa Gurunath of Chennai Super Kings, Manoj Badale of Rajasthan Royals, and Prathmesh Mishra of Royal Challengers Bangalore were among the other owners who attended the meeting. Several owners, notably the Ambanis of the Mumbai Indians, attended the meeting via videoconference.
The BCCI later issued a statement saying, “The franchise owners tabled feedback on player regulations and other commercial aspects, including central merchandising, licensing, and gaming,” according to a media release. “The BCCI will now take these recommendations to the IPL Governing Council for further deliberation and evaluation before formulating the IPL player regulations.”
