IPL 2020 mid-season transfer - Why no players have been traded yet?

The IPL 2020 mid-season transfer window was opened on Tuesday following the end of the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. The main reason for opening the mid-season transfer window in this week was that all teams would have played seven games apiece. However, this is the fourth day of the opening of the mid-season transfer window in IPL 2020 and not a single player has been transferred. Despite the BCCI including capped as well as uncapped players in the mid-season transfer window, why has there been no movement of players from one franchise to the other? With the mid-season transfer window closing on Saturday, here are the answers to some of the questions

1. Why there has been no transfer of players yet?

Two potential simple reasons. One, many IPL franchises are very insecure about this move as they believe that loaning a player to a rival franchise risks disclosing their plans and strategies. The second reason is potentially the rule that BCCI has formulated that has shot themselves in the foot in trying to conceptualise the mid-season transfer.

2. What is the rule of the BCCI that has prevented many players from being loaned?

This is the major catch! According to the rules of the IPL, the players who are loaned are only for this season and in IPL 2021, they will be back to their parent franchise. The major drawback also is that the player who has been loaned CANNOT play against his parent franchise. For example, if Imran Tahir is loaned to Kolkata Knight Riders, then he cannot play against Chennai Super Kings.

3. What is the position of the franchises?

Many franchises have been tight-lipped about the mid-season transfer. However, one major announcement by Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan is that no players will be traded in the mid-season transfer. This announcement from Chennai Super Kings makes it clear that the players are not going anywhere.

4. After playing his first match for Kings XI Punjab, is Chris Gayle eligible for a mid-season transfer?

No, when Chris Gayle was selected in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, his mid-season transfer opportunity has been thrown out of the window. Since Kings XI Punjab play their next game after the transfer window closes, the rule is clear that the player cannot be loaned or traded.

5.  What about the status of injured players?

This is one major grey area for the teams and the IPL Governing Council has not yet taken a call on this. There is simply no clarity as to whether the players eligible for the mid-season transfer can replace players who are injured. In many cases, the franchises have taken matters into their own hands. Sunrisers Hyderabad named their replacements for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mitchell Marsh while Chennai Super Kings have not requested any player to come into their squad after the departure of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh.

6. Will the mid-season transfer be scrapped in IPL 2021?

Looking at the response of the franchises in IPL 2019 and 2020, it makes sense for the BCCI to scrap this mid-season transfer window as the dynamics of cricket and football are totally different. The fact that it is only a temporary arrangement for just six games makes no sense. Either they revise the rules or they just will have to scrap them.