The much-awaited meeting between Indian Premier League (IPL) owners and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will take place at the end of this month. As per the IPL insiders, the BCCI has asked the owners to be available for a meeting likely on July 30 or 31 as well, although the exact date has not yet been confirmed as well. The meeting is likely to take place at the BCCI office in Mumbai. While such meetings are held in a five-star hotel, but the BCCI wants everyone to visit their newly refurbished office inside the Wankhede Stadium complex as well.
The main agenda of the meeting will be the key issue of player retention for IPL 2025 as well. There have been different views on the number of retentions allowed for a franchise as well. While some said that continuity is essential, as most franchises have existed since the beginning now and the number of retentions permitted should be as high as eight as well. It is also being argued that for fan engagement and brand building, they need to structure their teams around players who are seen as the core of the franchise’s image.
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However, some franchises informed the BCCI that the number of retentions should be minimal too. There is also a debate about whether to have a Right to Match (RTM) option at the mega-auction of IPL 2025. As recently reported by Cricbuzz, the BCCI has shared views of the franchises on the key issues. IPL CEO Hemang Amin also met with representatives of the franchises, either by visiting their headquarters in different cities or over a call earlier this month as well.
The discussion on salary cap will also be discussed, which is expected to be around INR 120 crore in the first year of the next three-year cycle as well. Meanwhile, the retention value of each player could also come up during the discussion. Earlier, the salary of the top retention was around 16-17 per cent of the salary cap (INR 15 crore in a salary cap of INR 90 crore) as well. If the same rule is being followed, the salary of the top retained player this time could be around or slightly over INR 20 crore as well. However, it will be interesting to see what unfolds.
