The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering allowing the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to pick some players outside the auction event. The move is made to ensure a level-playing field for the newcomers as the existing eight IPL franchises. Ahead of the mega auction, the current eight teams would be allowed to retain some players.
How many players can a franchise retain before the mega auction?
According to Cricbuzz, the number of ‘special picks’ could range from two to three players. Basically, the teams will be allowed to pick a few players from a lot of those who will have registered themselves for the mega auction. However, the final number will be determined based on the number of retentions allowed for the eight current teams.
As per the report, as of now, it’s believed that the teams could be allowed up to four retentions. And if four players are allowed, the Right to Match (RTM) cards might be scrapped. However, nothing has been finalized and the eight teams will be informed about the policy later.
BCCI postpones the sale of Invitation to Tender (ITT)
In another development, the BCCI has postponed the sale of Invitation to Tender (ITT) by 10 days. “Pursuant to requests from various interested parties, BCCI has now decided to further extend the date. For purchasing the ITT document till October 20, 2021,” the BCCI said in a statement on October 13. The BCCI has, however, confirmed that the postponement will not delay the sale of the teams which will be done on October 25.
As per news agency PTI, major business houses such as Kotak Group, Torrent Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and Adani Group are interested in joining the IPL bandwagon. The BCCI is hoping to earn a minimum of Rs 7000 crore. The base price for each team has been set at Rs 2000 crore.