A few days before the start of IPL 2024, there were rumors that there will be no more mega auction after Mega Auction 2022, but IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal rejected all these rumors and made it clear that there will definitely be a mega auction before IPL 2025. And now another issue related to the mega auction is becoming heated. Next week, a meeting is going to be held between BCCI and all the franchise owners regarding the policy of this mega auction in which there can be talk about increasing the number of players to be retained before the mega auction.

The BCCI has informally sought suggestions from IPL franchises on potentially increasing the number of retained players. According to sources, the board has invited all the 10 franchise owners for a meeting in Ahmedabad next week to discuss the issue. According to a BCCI source, “The league is in its initial stage and the board is seeking recommendations to take it forward. Retaining players is a major factor, as most franchises, based on informal discussions, favor the provision of retaining around eight players before the auction.”

During previous mega auctions, one player could be bought back with a “Right to Match” (RTM) card, while four players could be retained. This gave teams the opportunity to hold on to a total of five players. Whereas a maximum of two foreign players could be retained. According to sources, most of the franchises believe that there should be continuity in the team combination. Teams have also expressed their desire to increase the cumulative salary cap to Rs 100 crore from the current Rs 90 crore in view of BCCI's more lucrative media rights deals.

Speaking further, the BCCI source said, “Some people believe that the repeated separation of the core team is absurd. Franchisees have determined that space is needed to house the majority of the core group. There are some issues with this proposal. There have been no specific conversations about RTM or foreign retention limits.”

It is noteworthy that since the last mega auction, two franchises – Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore were faced with many challenges. DC has suffered the most loss. In the years leading up to the last mega auction, he had built his strong team. Delhi had built a strong core in 2020 by making the finals and qualifying for the playoffs in both seasons that year.