If reports are to be believed, then the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to allow the franchises to retain a certain number of uncapped players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will hold a much-anticipated meeting with Indian Premier League (IPL) owners on Wednesday at the board’s headquarters in the Wankhede Stadium complex to discuss retentions before the big auction.
“A major time of the meeting is likely to be consumed in discussing retentions, which are likely to be not more than five or six in number, more time (five years from three) in the frequency of the mega auction, an increase in purse and performance-based increments for a player,” a source told Times of India.
The Times of India stated that the auction purse could be boosted from Rs 90 crore to Rs 130-140 crore. An interesting development this time is that teams may be allowed to keep at least a pair of uncapped players in a different slot.
Franchises invest money and time in developing uncapped Indian players in IPL
The Mumbai Indians have produced Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir, and Akash Madhwal; the Kolkata Knight Riders have Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, and Suyash Sharma; and the Punjab Kings have Harpreet Brar, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, and Prabhsimran Singh.
Chennai Super Kings have Mukesh Chaudhary, Simarjeet Singh, and Sameer Rizvi; Sunrisers Hyderabad have Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abdul Samad; Royal Challengers Bangalore have Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Anuj Rawat, and Mahipal Lomror; and the Lucknow Super Giants will be looking to keep pace duo Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan.
“Every franchise could be allowed to retain, say, two-three uncapped players from their squad in the 2024 IPL season under an additional slot. The franchises are likely to push for it. Almost all the franchises have developed certain uncapped players which they don’t want to lose since they have invested in them over the last two-three years,” the source added.
The list of uncapped players who are likely to be kept is long. Over the years, almost every organization has nurtured and invested in young players. As a result, the teams do not want to lose them, even with the mega-auction.
Before the mega auction before IPL 2022, the eight teams could keep up to four players each, with a maximum of three Indian players, two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. No Right-to-Match (RTM) cards were allowed at the time, but one RTM may be permitted at this time.
The Impact Player rule will likely continue in IPL 2025, despite its most obvious drawback of discouraging the all-rounders.
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