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The existing teams can retain up to four players, while the two new franchises can pick three before the mega auction.
The Indian Premier League is on for just a couple of months, but the build-up and discussions between two seasons are never-ending. Although the ongoing T20I World Cup has taken over the cricketing world, one cannot help but delve into the chatter about the upcoming mega auction.
Retention rules
The last mega auction was held prior to the 2018 season, which saw the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. This time around, there will be ten teams instead of eight. The original eight teams will be allowed to retain a maximum of four players.
The combination of the players can be either 3 Indians + 1 overseas or 2 Indians + 2 overseas. Franchises that want to shuffle their pack can choose to retain less than four players, giving them an additional budget during the auction.
The eight teams retaining the three Indian players can be all capped, uncapped, or a mixture of both. Unlike the 2018 auction, there will be no right to match cards on this occasion. It would be unfair for the new teams if the eight teams were allowed to retain four players and use an additional RTM card or two.
Before the auction, the two new sides – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – will select three players. It is not known whether the pool of players, in this case, will be the unretained players or players who are willing to register for the auction. The combination of these three players must be 2 Indians + 1 overseas.
There will be a separate draft held between these two teams, similar to the one in 2016 when Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants were asked to pick players from the pool of CSK and RR players.
Expected date
IPL is yet to announce the date for the mega auction. In fact, the retention and draft dates are also unknown. Reportedly, the final date for the eight teams to announce their retention list is late November. Going by this estimate, fans can expect the draft between the brand-new franchises to take place in December.
The mega auction ahead of the 2022 season could occur either during the latter half of December or in January 2022. Fans should take this information with a pinch of salt, as nothing has been officially confirmed.
Money involved
The total budget available to all teams is Rs. 90 crores. This is a slight increase from the Rs. 85 crore purse last season. During the previous mega auction in 2018, teams could spend a maximum of Rs. 80 crore. Although the number of retentions has been changed and the RTM rule has been scrapped, let’s look at the financial breakdown during the 2018 retention process.
When the last mega auction took place, teams retained a maximum of three players. Apart from the three retentions, two RTM cards were also at hand. While the combination of retained players and players bought back using RTM cards could differ, each franchise could keep a maximum of five players.
Rs. 33 crores were deducted from a team’s budget if they retained three players. The first player would bag Rs. 15 crores, the second retention would earn Rs. 11 crores, and the third would make Rs. 7 crores.
If only two players were retained, Rs. 12.5 crore and Rs. 8.5 crore would be given to the players. If just one player was retained, Rs. 12.5 crore was deducted from the team’s purse.
The numbers are expected to be altered as the overall budget has been increased from Rs. 80 crore to Rs. 90 crore. However, the historical data suggests that around 40-45% of the budget will be utilised if a team retains four players.
Big players up for grabs, including Rahul and Warner
All eight teams will ideally look to retain their four best players. However, in some situations, they will have to let go of their star players.
Reportedly, KL Rahul has asked the Punjab Kings management to release him as he wants to get back into the auction mix. Despite his star-studded displays over the last two years, PBKS has failed to qualify for the playoffs on both occasions.
Another player who has a love affair with the orange cap, David Warner, is expected to be relieved of his duties by Sunrisers Hyderabad. The southpaw was synonymous with the franchise since the team’s inception. However, he is unlikely to be retained due to his disagreements with the franchise during this year’s campaign.
As only four players can be retained, teams like Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals will have their work cut out while selecting the quartet. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will be two obvious choices for MI, leaving them in a spot of bother while choosing between the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Shreyas Iyer is reportedly vying for a captaincy role in the IPL. If Delhi Capitals want to continue functioning under Rishabh Pant’s captaincy in the future, Iyer may ask the franchise to release him.
MS Dhoni’s future is also uncertain. While the Indian team mentor has stated that he will continue with his beloved Chennai Super Kings, it will be interesting to see if that will be as a player or in a coaching capacity.
As Virat Kohli has decided to step down as captain, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be one of the many teams after a skipper ahead of IPL 2022. Players like Iyer, David Warner, Steve Smith could be viable captaincy picks for teams in the auction.
