With the current season of the Indian Premier League making headlines, the Board of Cricket Control for Cricket in India has been progressing with the idea of a mega auction in the coming year. An informal meeting was held between BCCI and the franchise owners for the auction later this year.
As per reports, player retention has been a major point of discussion in the meeting, with most of the franchises seeking to keep more players in their squads. In the previous mega auction, which was held in 2022, teams were allowed to retain four players, including two foreign players.
The additional retentions, if allowed, would allow the teams to maintain continuity in their squad as opposed to leaving the core members regularly. This remains a concern if a team grooms a youngster but cannot keep them for a prolonged period of time.
Another point that was discussed was the increase in the salary cap to 100 crore INR. This would increase the current cap by 10 crores from the original limit.
Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have struggled after the last mega auction. Capitals had built a strong core in the years leading to the last mega auction. They had made the final in 2020 while qualifying for the playoffs on either side of the 2020 season.
The meg auction will give them the opportunity to build their team with the best possible crop of players. Many are also asking for fewer retentions to have a larger pool of players to choose from. All the franchises will aim to take back the core group of players that they were not able to retain.