The meeting between BCCI officials and IPL team owners is set for July 31, where the plan for the 2025 Indian Premier League will be crystallized. Among the prerequisites is an important meeting to take up discussions on varying topics with regard to the mega auction: retention policies and using RTM cards in auctions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is currently looking at permitting every franchise to retain five to six players, but the nitty-gritty of the RTM cards policy will be a major talking point when the final deliberations take place at the BCCI’s headquarters in Wankhede Stadium.
Indeed, reports from Cricbuzz suggest there have been proposals from some team owners to have the retention limit increased to eight players per team ahead of the auction. However, such a suggestion has been met with resistance from BCCI officials.
WATCH – 14-Hour Pilgrimage: Fan’s Unwavering Devotion To Marcus Stoinis
“Now, if it allows eight retentions, that would mean depriving the auction pool up to 80 of the finest players in the game from Indian and international circuits, which would take a lot of sheen off the excitement of the auction. During the 2022 mega auction, teams were restricted to retaining only a limited number of players. Considering the number of steps taken toward developing players and strategic planning, it is expected that the number of retainable players might be slightly increased when the auction hits the floor.
IPL OWNERS AND BCCI MEET ON 31ST JULY . 5 – 6 RETENTIONS LIKELY . Comment your fav team retentions . #PBKS #IPL pic.twitter.com/Zuig1vUfGY
— AARYAN (@AARYAN0791) July 25, 2024
From RTM cards, RTM cards have always faced a lot of arguments. BCCI finally abolished RTM cards in 2022 to carry for the sale of players at their real market price. In the past, RTM cards were misused, and franchises would start to price targets unreasonably to push up the prices and raise the bids of competitors. It has yet to decide if RTM cards will be reinstituted in the 2024 season.
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya Expresses Love For Son Amid Separation from Natasa Stankovic
But there are more expectations: there is an anticipation that the budget for each team continues to increase. Last season broke the record, with Australian players Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins going for INR 24.75 crore and INR 20.50 crore respectively in the purchases. With the IPL financial landscape changing each season, the BCCI aims to increase the team budgets to the tune of INR 120-130 crore for the upcoming season. This proposed hike in the potential budget will be discussed in the meeting too.
