MUMBAI: The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin its auction early next year with eight teams in the fray. The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has announced that the auction for the new edition will be held on 12 February and if needed will be extended to 13 February 2014 as well. An embargo has been placed on franchisees approaching players from other teams before 11 January.
A minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 27 players will be allowed to be auctioned to each of the eight teams in which only nine overseas players can be included. In a match, only four international players can play. Last year, franchisees could have 33 players including 11 from overseas.
Players can stay in a franchisee for a year and then have an extension of a year or two as compared to the one year restriction that was imposed last year. This has to be exercised before 15 December. Maximum of five players from the 2013 squad can be retained before the auction that can include both capped and uncapped players, the contract for which must be submitted to the BCCI on or before 10 January.
The first capped player who will be retained will be charged Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 4 crore for each uncapped player retained. These players will not be auctioned. The minimum requirement for catchment area players has been removed.
The cap for the IPL fees for an entire squad is Rs 60 crore that will increase by 5 per cent per annum for 2015 and 2016 while the minimum would be Rs 36 crore. The fees will now be denominated in rupees for Indian players and international players can have it in their own currency. Last year’s entire squad cost $ 12.5 million.
One addition has been made to the auction with ‘rights to match’ (RTM) available to a franchise depending on number of retained players. For five to three players, one RTM is allowed, for one or two, two RTM is given and three RTM will be given if no players from last year is retained. RTM will allow franchisees to have a final call on the bid price after which no other franchise can bid on it.
