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Ahead of the next edition of the Indian Premier League, all eyes will be on the IPL 2025 mega auction. BCCI is having discussions with the IPL franchises regarding the big bidding wars, where they are taking their suggestions and noting down their requests. It is mainly about the players' retention, budget, and the mega auction. As per a report, the franchise owners want the board to organise a mega auction every five years instead of three. They have said that a mega auction every three years forces the entire core of their team to change.
According to a report from ESPN Cricinfo, a senior official from one of the franchises said there are a lot of benefits of having a mega auction every five years as it will also allow and give time to teams to groom young players. Teams that have been part of this league since the inaugural 2008 season itself they have invested a lot, by building academies to find talented players from the grassroots level and shaping them into the international stature.
Mega auctions have been held in IPL for the first time after four years. It happened in 2018. Before that, a mega auction was held in 2014. Then a mega auction was held after four years due to the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from suspension after two years. Then after 2018, the mega auction took place in 2022. Then due to Covid-19, the mega auction could not be held in 2021. Mega auctions are being held only every three years before and after these two incidents. After the start of IPL in 2008, mega auction took place in 2011 and then in 2014. Now it is proposed again after 2022.
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Allow direct renegotiation of salaries
The official from the franchise suggested that teams could also be allowed to negotiate salaries directly with their players between mega auctions. Not only would this assist teams in keeping their core players, but it would also assist them in negotiating better terms with players who were acquired at base or lower prices during previous auctions. The official wanted the franchise to take control of the situation without the player having the option of being released, even though the negotiation would be open and honest and the new contract would be announced to the IPL.
The RTM option
According to the CEO of a different franchise, teams might be able to keep one big player, possibly the captain, and get rid of the rest through RTMs. A strategy of this kind would make it possible for the market to decide a player's price and would also take away any financial disappointment a player might feel if they were last in the retention pecking order.
What about combining RTMs and player retention? This was how the 2018 mega auction was conducted, when each team could keep up to five players. Three of the five players could be retained prior to the auction, and a team could buy back up to three of them through RTM options during the auction. A team would still only have three RTM options at the auction if none of its players were retained prior to the auction. The franchise can buy back their player during the auction by matching the price paid after the bidding for the player has ended using an RTM option.
Even though some franchises favor this combination, at least one team official said it could upset the players who were retained before the auction if the players who were bought back using the RTM option got higher bids. In 2022 uber sell off, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Monsters entered the IPL, the eight different groups were permitted to hold four players through two unique mixes: three Indians and one abroad, or two Indians and two abroad. RTM choices were not accessible a long time back in light of the fact that the IPL believed Titans and Super Goliaths should have a bigger player pool to look over.
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