An important meeting of the Indian Premier league’s (IPL) governing council is scheduled for Sunday. Among other things, the GC is expected to decide on the number of matches, and more importantly, the contentious issue of player retention.
Highly-placed sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) say the Board will go ahead and reduce the number of matches, although there is an apparent resistance from the franchises on cutting down the volume of games from the fourth edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza.
Originally, 94 matches were proposed and nine of the 10 franchises, including the two new teams, are believed to be insisting on full quota of games. But the Board is proposing to have around 74 games. “We have conveyed to them. It is not possible to have 94 games,” a top IPL official told DNA on Thursday.
The most contentious issue is, of course, the formula for retention. Former India skippers Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri are believed to have come out with a few suggestions on retention, although eight of the 10 franchises want all players thrown into the auction pool.
One suggestion is to send all players into the pool with the current owner having the option to match the bid of a player. For instance, Mumbai Indians will have the right of refusal for their players like Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard. Similarly, Royal Challengers Bangalore will have the final word on Anil Kumble, Ross Taylor and others. The inherent problem with the system is that some franchises may deliberately inflate the fee of a certain player, knowing that current owners will try to match their fee.
There will also be a debate on the purse for the franchises, although at this stage, it is suggested that the amount could be around $9 million. This piece of information could not be confirmed, though. The GC also will decide on the tournament schedule. The proposed schedule is some time in April but the dates could be finalised at the meeting.
The GC may also discuss the catchment areas for the new teams. In particular interest will be the catchment area for the Pune franchise as the city currently falls under the purview of Mumbai Indians.
A franchise official expressed ignorance about the agenda of the meeting but said the teams would be eager to know about the final decisions. “If they want to hold the auction in November, they have to come out with the rules by September,” said the official.
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