IPL 2022: New franchises given January 22 deadline to conclude retention process

The two new IPL franchises – Lucknow and Ahmedabad – have been given time until January 22 to complete their retention process ahead of the mega auction before the 15th edition of the tournament.

The confirmation comes two days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave the final go-ahead to the CVC Capitals-owned Ahmedabad franchise, as they issued the Letter of Intent, which was delayed following the emergence of the company’s linkages with betting companies outside India that had given birth to a controversy.

The BCCI had initially set a December 25 deadline for the new teams to name their three retentions from the pool of non-retained players, however, the legal tussle around the CVC issue meant the process was delayed.

Retention rules for new franchises

Meanwhile, as per the retention rules for the new teams, they are allowed to retain a maximum of up to three players – not more than two Indians and not more than one overseas. Also, the new teams cannot sign more than one uncapped player. There is no provision of Right to Match (RTM) cards in this year’s mega auction.

If a franchise retains three players, the deductions from the salary cap will be INR 33 crore (INR 15 crore for Player 1, INR 11 crore for Player 2, INR 7 crore for Player 3). In case of two retentions, the deduction will be INR 24 crore (INR 14 crore and INR 10 crore), while the figures in case of solitary retention or uncapped players are INR 14 crore and INR 4 crore, respectively.

The new franchises were originally supposed to be given a two-week window for picking the players, although it is understood that the board and respective team managements have agreed that 10 days will be sufficient for it. As it stands, the new franchises have time till 5 pm on January 22 to conclude the process.

The mega auction, the organising of which was under doubt owing to the significant upsurge of Covid-19 cases in India, is understood to go underway as per plans on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. While various reports suggesting the likelihood of it going outside India, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel silenced the claims on January 11, the same day when IPL also found a new sponsor in Tata Group, the Indian business conglomerate, after the pull-out of Vivo.