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IPL teams want to alter player retention policies before the 2025 super auction.

Hold a massive auction just once every five years. Teams should be able to hold onto four to six players. Assign eight right-to-match (RTM) choices to each franchise. During feedback sessions with IPL officials about player retentions before to the 2025 auction, these are some of the noteworthy recommendations that franchises have made. When IPL administrators meet with the franchises—possibly as early as next week, though a date has not yet been set—the next steps will be discussed.

A senior official at a franchise claims that there are multiple benefits to holding the mega auction every five years as opposed to the current three-year cycle. Teams might establish continuity by developing young players, particularly uncapped Indians, if there was a longer interval between big auctions. Established franchises from the inaugural IPL season in 2008 have made significant investments in this domain, establishing academies to identify and nurture young talent at the grassroots level, ultimately developing them into elite players. Teams would be encouraged to continue doing this if there was a massive auction every five years, as opposed to a three-year cycle where there is a chance they could lose a player they had developed to a rival team.

By the way, twice in the past ten years, the IPL has alternated between massive auctions every four years. The first occurred in 2018, the first major auction since 2014, when the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings made their comeback after a two-year break. The 2021 mega auction was forced to be postponed by one year due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In both cases, teams added an extra year to the contracts of their players.

The franchise executive added that teams might be permitted to directly discuss salary renegotiations with their players in between mega auctions as part of the same proposal. Teams would be able to negotiate better terms with players who were acquired at base price or at lower auction prices in addition to keeping their key players. The official wanted the franchise to be in charge of the proceedings without giving the player the choice to be released, even though the negotiations would be transparent and the new contract would be announced to the IPL.

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The right-to-match option

One key player, perhaps the captain, may be retained by the team; the remaining players may be acquired through RTMs, according to the CEO of another team. With this strategy, a player’s price would be set by the market, and any financial disappointment resulting from finishing last in the retention pecking order would be eliminated.

How about combining RTMs with player retention? During the 2018 mega auction, each team may retain a maximum of five players using this approach. Three of the five players may be kept before the auction, and three more could be purchased back by a team using RTM options at the end of the auction. There would still only be three RTM choices available to a club at the auction if it had no players retained prior to the sale. With an RTM option, the team can match the winning bid after the player has been selected, allowing them to reclaim their player during the auction.

While such a combination is favoured by some franchises, at least one team official said it had potential to cause disgruntlement among the players retained ahead of the auction, if those bought back via the RTM option happened to secure higher bids. In 2022 mega auction, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants entered the IPL, the eight other teams were allowed to retain four players via two different combinations: three Indians and one overseas, or two Indians and two overseas. RTM options were not available three years ago because the IPL wanted Titans and Super Giants to have a larger player pool to choose from.

The challenge for all teams

Since the last auction, a number of players, particularly those who were uncapped and acquired for cheap sums, have gone on to represent India or developed into match-winners. Instead of being kept, they might prefer to re-enter the auction in hopes of receiving a greater price. Although it might sound reasonable for the athlete, the franchise—especially the one that discovered and nurtured the talent—could not feel the same way.

One IPL club suggested that the league consider eight RTM possibilities with no retentions. Other teams have reacted differently to the notion; while some believe it levels the playing field, others are opposed to auctioning off their best players. Another worry is that competing teams may raise prices to thwart auction strategies.

Building a devoted fan base is one of the main ideas, which the franchises have emphasised more and more over time. Tribalism is the term used in sports to describe such. However, how can a team achieve this if they are still required to reassemble their teams every three years, even after 17 years? A couple of the top executives who have worked with the IPL for more than 15 years are posing this query. Officials concur that in order to improve fan engagement, the IPL must figure out a strategy for long-term player retention. The proponent of holding massive auctions every five years stated that it’s time for teams to put aside their egos and consider the greater good.

All proposals will be further discussed, according to team executives, during the next meeting between the IPL and the franchises. They may also talk about the purse for the 2025 auction, the Impact Player rule, which has drawn conflicting responses from teams, and possibly the salary cap deduction for players that are retained.

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