IPL 2018: Franchises willing to trim the squad size

The Indian Premier League (IPL) players auction is less than 18 hours away and the excitement levels are very high. This is being touted as one of the biggest ever auction, considering the number of big names who will be up for grabs. A total of 578 players are set to go under the hammer in the next two days in Bengaluru.

All team owners and staff members are already in the city and are preparing themselves for an action-packed weekend. All the teams have retained a minimum of one player and a maximum of three players. The IPL will be aired for the first time on Star Sports after Sony India lost the broadcasting rights to the former.

Franchises reconsidering the squad sizes

Apparently, a lot of franchises believe that they might need 25 players in their squad. Each team should have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players in their unit. But we have seen over the past, how many players keep warming the bench throughout the course of the tournament, which is getting the club owners to reconsider their squad strength.

The franchises are also willing to save some money, which can help them spend more on some big players. We have seen in the past how Rising Pune Supergiant shelled out Rs. 14.5 Crore on Ben Stokes despite not having a big purse. They had a very small amount left after that, but it proved to be a masterstroke as Pune reached the final last season with Stokes playing a crucial role.

“The savings in terms of signings during the auction would obviously mean the teams can increase the budget for players on their wishlist,” said a franchise official according to The Hindu.

“First and foremost, the teams seem to have realized that you don’t really need so many players on the roster now. In the first few seasons, overseas players’ availability used to be a big issue but now with virtually no international cricket in the IPL window, you don’t need to have too many back-ups. Besides, the injury replacement mechanism has been streamlined in the last few years,” the source added.

For more news and updates from the IPL and rest of the world, keep following Crictracker.