The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to witness a surge of top Indian cricketers entering the upcoming player auction, thanks to a significant alteration in the retention rules. The deadline for player retention is fast approaching, and the IPL circles are abuzz with frantic activity.
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 to or greater than the designated price, the “higher of the two” amounts will be deducted from the player’s purse.
For example, in the 2022 auction, the highest price band for a player retention was Rs. 15 crore. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were retained by their respective franchises for Rs. 17 crore and Rs. 16 crore, respectively. However, 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.
In the upcoming 2025 retention, Sunrisers Hyderabad is likely to retain Heinrich Klaasen (Rs. 23 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs. 18 crore), and Abhishek Sharma (Rs. 14 crore). If this happens, despite the combined designated kitty for the 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.
This rule change, combined with the additional bid offered to the highest bidder while using the Right to Match card, has resulted in 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 skipper), Kuldeep Yadav (DC spinner), and Arshdeep Singh (Punjab Kings) may throw their hat in the auction pool.
Contrary to this trend, Mumbai Indians is set to retain four of its top Indian stars – Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya. While this will severely hamper its auction purse, the MI 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.
