The modalities of the upcoming auction and the season ahead were discussed at the recent meeting of the BCCI with the IPL franchise owners in Mumbai. There were heated discussions at times during this gathering, especially on the topic of player retention that saw some divergent views from two high-profile owners, KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia.
Shah Rukh Khan was quite insistent that more retentions should be allowed so that teams have a better possibility of continuity and stability. In contrast, Ness Wadia totally disagreed with the point; he believed that mega auctions are the strength of this league, as they make it dynamic and interesting to watch. The discussion between the two got a bit heated, underlining the difference in strategies and experiences their respective teams underwent in the previous season.
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Sources from the meeting state that Khan and Wadia engaged in an extremely aggressive verbal exchange. However, on his way out from the venue, Wadia spoke to the media and denied any rupture of this magnitude with Khan. “Not true. We are all in it together. Just like you guys. After you finish this, you will go for a quick bite. So not true at all”, Ness Wadia told reporters while brushing off the confrontation.
In the ongoing meeting of IPL franchises, there was a heated debate between Shahrukh Khan and Ness Wadia over the players’ retention policy.
– Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO Kavya Maran supported Shahrukh Khan saying, “It takes a lot of time to build a team”.
Source – Cricbuzz… pic.twitter.com/ALd2cvM7sB
— Satish Mishra 🇮🇳 (@SATISHMISH78) August 1, 2024
It’s not that difficult to understand KKR and PBKS taking different stances against their recent performances. With the title already in their kitty, KKR were settled and they wanted to retain as many of their core team members as possible.
Whereas on the other hand, PBKS, who had an extremely woeful season wherein they finished ninth with only five wins out of 14 matches, wanted a fresh start and thus preferred the mega auction route to revamp their squad. The meeting was attended in person by all the franchise owners, except the Mumbai Indians, who attended virtually.
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The mega auction formed the major theme of discussion. Another major agenda was the auction purse that is presently fixed at Rs 100 crore per team. There are very strong chances that this amount may get hiked, which will dramatically alter the game plan of both the players and the franchise owners in times to come.
