Big Debate Between IPL Owners and BCCI Over Mega Auction as Meet Ends in Mumbai

The much-awaited meeting between owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ended in Mumbai and it’s understood that there was a big debate on the mega auction. It is learnt that all franchises are in favour of a smaller auction and pushed for more retentions during the meeting which lasted over two hours at BCCI’s headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday.

All franchises had their owners in attendance and Mumbai Indians joined the meeting virtually. More details from the crucial meeting are awaited but it’s understood that the mega auction remained the biggest talking point.

Even before this meet, the house was divided on a number of retentions but most franchises wanted some sort of continuity before entering a new cycle of the cash-rich league.

Ahead of the pivotal meeting to determine the course of action ahead of the upcoming season of the money-rich T20 spectacle, a number of issues needed to be addressed including the number of players each team would be permitted to retain, the number of right-to-match cards available to each franchise, and the number of future of uncapped players.

“It was just to hear all the different perspectives from all the owners. The Bcci has heard us and they will give us the rules by the end of August hopefully,” Parth Jindal said.

“Some people want 8 to 10, some want 4, so it is all up in the air,” he added.

The auction purse was also touted as one of the most crucial agendas of the meeting, and as it stands, currently at Rs 100 crore for every team, there is a huge possibility of it getting a raise which could result in a change in strategies – of both players and franchise owners.

There is plenty of talk surrounding a merry-go-round of marquee players ahead of the 2025 edition but if the Auction Purse gets a raise, the possibility of more and more players, even the established names, entering the auctions can’t be ruled out.

Given the circumstances, the auction purse could be the one topic that might garner the unanimous support of the franchise owners, while stakeholders might harbour a difference of opinion surrounding other aspects such as the impact player rule for instance, which courted a lot of talk in the bygone season.