Big blow for big shot cricketers of the IPL

The cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) starts in April but the drama has already begun. The biggest news is that of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) making a comeback after a 2-year long suspension. The player retention rules and the upcoming mega auction have created a hype among the fans who want star players back in their side. While some franchises were against the retention of players, others wanted certain players back into the squad.

The retention was inevitable in the end as some star players who’ve been associated with a franchise since the inception of the league, has to be retained to maintain the fan connect. As per the retention policy set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a maximum of three players were allowed to be retained. A total of 33 crores would be deducted from franchises retaining 3 players. Teams retaining two and one players will have a deduction of 21 crores and 12.5 crores respectively from their total purse of 80 crores. This policy comes as a big blow to some big stars as teams would be looking to go into the auction with fewer players and a bigger purse.

IPL Retention: Gain or Loss for the big names?

While the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and David Warner were retained by their respective franchises as had been expected, several big names have missed out, reported Mid-day. Yuvraj Singh, who is one of the highest earners of the IPL has been left out by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chris Gayle, in all likelihood will not feature for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this time around. High-profile players like Kane Williamson, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis and Kieron Pollard did not fit into the scheme of things for the franchises either.

Another big shocker came in the form of Gautam Gambhir, who was not retained by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team he’s captained to glory on more than one occasions. Venky Mysore, chief executive of the KKR was quoted by Mid-day as saying, “A large part of the planning revolved around finances and various other factors.” Caribbean stars, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were retained instead by the 2-time IPL winning franchise.

The franchises have the option of Right To Match (RTM) cards but that too, is limited. A maximum of three RTMs can be used by franchises. The big auction is set to be held on January 27-28. The teams have just three weeks to chalk out their strategy heading into the auction. It remains to be seen if the big names will still be able to find a place in the most popular Cricket league of the world.

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