The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is ready to finalise the mega auction plan before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. However, a big difference in opinion took place among franchise owners. While the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad reportedly want to retain 7-8 players, other franchises like Punjab Kings want less retention. Also, a heated debate hapened between PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia and KKR’s Shah Rukh Khan.
In a chat on Cricbuzz, Wadia said, “I have known Shah Rukh for more than 25 years. There is no animosity here,” the co-owner of Punjab Kings said, “Everyone gave their views, and they had their opinions. At the end of the day, you have to look at all the stakeholders and do what’s best for all. That’s most important.”
After the meeting, the Delhi-based franchise co-owner Parth Jindal also said that some teams want the impact player rule because it gives a chance to the young players to play in the T20 tournament as well.
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya shares happiness after winning back the love of fans
“Some people want it because it gives a chance to young players to play in the IPL. Some people don’t want it because it is detrimental to Indian cricket in terms of the development of allrounders. So it’s a mixed bag. I’m on the second camp. I don’t want it. I prefer the game as it is 11 versus 11, and I think all-rounders are very important. And you have different players who don’t bowl in the IPL or don’t bat in the IPL because of this rule, which is not good for Indian cricket,” Jindal was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
Meanwhile, the report also suggested that Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran said that “players could be secured via a plain retention process or a combination of retention and RTM at the auction or all exclusively via the right-to-match (RTM) card.”
The co-owner of Delhi Capitals further added that he was ‘surprised’ to see that few franchises were against the mega auction as well.
ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill
“I was surprised. There was a debate. Some people said that there should not be a mega auction at all. There should be only smaller auctions. I’m not in that camp. I feel that I feel that it evens the playing field and it’s very good for everyone. It makes the IPL what it is. It makes it competitive. It makes it an even playing field,” Jindal added.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, co-owner of Punjab Kings Ness Wadia, and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan were seen after the meeting as well.
