BCCI could defer decision on IPL player retention rule: Report

The release of the IPL retention rules may face further delays. Discussion among Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners and officials suggest that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might postpone the announcement until the end of the month, reports Cricbuzz. It could even come around the time of BCCI's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bengaluru on September 29 .

While there is no direct connection between the AGM and IPL policies, the BCCI could still choose to surprise everyone by announcing the policy in the coming days. However, the prevailing sentiment among IPL officials is that the announcement could take at least 10 days to two weeks. Although there has been no official communication regarding this, BCCI officials are believed to have hinted at the delay to franchises that recently inquired about the retention rules.

Initially, the BCCI had planned to announce the policy by the end of August, as stated by Board officials after last month’s owners’ meeting in Mumbai. However, as the deadline approached, franchise officials reached out to the BCCI and were reportedly informed of a further delay, with an understanding that the announcement would come by the end of September.

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Regardless of when the BCCI makes the announcement, it is now understood that franchises will have until November 15 to finalise their retention decisions. The auction, likely set for December, will certainly include the Right to Match (RTM) options as well.

The BCCI is also contemplating a controversial move to classify retired international players as uncapped, although it’s uncertain whether this will significantly impact the auction purse. This policy is not specifically aimed at categorising MS Dhoni as ‘uncapped’ to benefit the Chennai Super Kings, as it is in the league’s interest for Dhoni to play one more season.

Moreover, CSK officials have stated that if Dhoni chooses to play next season, he would be among their retained players, even if the BCCI allows only two retentions. This decision could also affect other players, such as Sunil Narine, who retired from international cricket some time ago, with his last T20I appearance in 2019.

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Overall, the consensus is that uncapping retired players may not have a major effect on the auction purse, as the BCCI will deduct a percentage based on the number of retentions. This will enable franchises to set player prices without necessarily assigning a specific value to each retained player, as has been the practice until now.