The Indian Premier League (IPL) authorities have decided to tighten the competition further by allowing mid-season transfers of capped players this season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team director Mike Hesson had voiced his support for the mid-season loan transfer of players before the start of the tournament. "Looks if needs must, later on, we are certainly open to it," he had said at a virtual media conference. "We've got a small squad and we've done that for a reason. If something [injuries] was to occur, we'd certainly look at that."

Here's all you need to know about the mid-season transfer.

When does it start?

The transfer will only be applicable at the half-way mark in the league stage when all franchises have played seven games each.

Why is it necessary?

The mid-season transfer window in IPL is similar to the January transfer window in football. Here, players who failed to create an impact in the first half of the tournament may get a fresh start with a new franchise. It will also create opportunities for players who warmed the bench in their respective teams. IPL is a result of some serious planning and the mid-season transfer will help the franchises with a plan B.

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How does it work?

By now, all teams have figured out their marquee players. The decision lies with the franchise; they need to identify players they want to keep/release. This also allows the franchises to sign players whom they couldn’t buy at the pre-season auction. There should be mutual consent between the franchises while moving the players.

Which players can move?

Last year, the IPL had opened up a five-day window for uncapped players to be loaned mid-season, subject to the player not having featured in more than two games. This time around, for the first time, the IPL has allowed loans of capped players - Indian or overseas - if the franchises have injury concerns going into the second half.

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Players eligible for mid-season transfer

Mumbai Indians:

Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohsin Khan, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jayant Yadav, Sherfane Rutherford, Anmolpreet Singh

Chennai Super Kings:

KM Asif, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Monu Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Josh Hazlewood

Delhi Capitals:

Ajinkya Rahane, Keemo Paul, Sandeep Lamicchane, Alex Carey, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ishant Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Daniel Sams, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Shreevats Goswami, Siddharth Kaul, Wriddhiman Saha, Vijay Shankar, Virat Singh, Bavanaka Sandeep, Fabien Allen, Sanjay Yadav, Basil Thampi, Billy Stanlake, Mohammad Nabi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem

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Kings XI Punjab:

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Porel, Chris Jordan, Simran Singh, Tajinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkhande, Krishnappa Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Chris Gayle, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mandeep Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Tom Banton, Nikhil Naik, Ali Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Siddhesh Lad, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Lockie Ferguson

Rajasthan Royals:

Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi, Oshane Thomas, Aniruddha Joshi, Andrew Tye, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Mayank Markande, Ankit Rajpoot, Manan Vohra, Mahipal Lomroor, Shashank Singh, David Miller

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav

The 13th edition of IPL is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with eight teams competing for the coveted silverware.