An alteration in the retention rules may result in a spree of top Indian cricketers entering the Indian Premier League’s (IPL’s) big player auction, likely to be held in Saudi Arabia next month.
With the deadline for player retention fast approaching, the IPL circles are abuzz with frantic activity. Sportstar has confirmed that the IPL authorities have deviated from the previous practice of reducing the “lesser amount” if a player’s retention price exceeds the designated price for the slot.
This time around, if the amount is equal or greater than the designated price, the “higher of the two” amounts will be deducted from the player’s purse.
For example, the highest price band for a player retention ahead of the 2022 auction was Rs. 15 crore. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were retained by their respective franchises for Rs. 17 crore and Rs. 16 crore, respectively. But since the cap for the top player was Rs. 15 crore, only Rs. 15 crore was reduced from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (then Bangalore) and Mumbai Indians’ auction kitty.
Cut to 2025 retention, Sunrisers Hyderabad are likely to retain Heinrich Klaasen (Rs. 23 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs. 18 crore) and Abhishek Sharma (Rs. 14 crore). If it happens, despite the combined designated kitty for top three retentions being Rs. 43 crore (Rs. 18 crore, Rs. 14 crore and Rs. 11 crore), Rs. 55 crore will be reduced from the SRH’s auction purse of Rs. 120 crore.
The rule – combined with the additional bid offered to the highest bidder while using the Right to Match card - has resulted in the Indian cricketers seeking amounts much higher than the anticipated brackets by the franchises.
As a result, stars like Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL-winning captain), Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals captain), Kuldeep Yadav (DC left-arm unorthodox) and Arshdeep Singh (Punjab Kings) may throw their hat in the auction pool.
Contrary to the trend is Mumbai Indians. It is set to retain four of its top Indian stars – Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. While it will severely hamper its auction purse, the Mumbai Indians management is understood to have arrived at an agreement with the quartet.
Punjab Kings may well enter the auction with Rs. 112 crore, the largest purse, since it is likely to retain only two uncapped cricketers. While Shashank Singh is a certainty, either Prabhsimran Singh or Ashutosh Sharma is likely to be retained.
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