 "Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan reportedly had a heated exchange over the player retention limit in IPL. Image: AFP/PTI")
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials met on Wednesday (July 31) to discuss multiple topics before the next season rolls around. Things on the agenda majorly included player retentions, Right-to-Match card, the auction format.
All franchise owners attended the meeting in person except for the Ambanis who joined in virtually from Paris. As it has emerged , the team owners differed on the number of players that should be retained which in turn affects the magnitude of the auction.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders’ co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was reportedly not keen on the idea of a mega auction. Khan favoured the idea of more retentions. Punjab Kings’ Ness Wadia, though, wished for a mega auction which, as per a Cricbuzz report, led to a heated argument.
Wadia, though, cleared the air and said there was no truth to such an incident. “I have known Shah Rukh much before the IPL started. I know his family and I have the utmost regard for him and the family. We go back a long way and there’s absolutely no truth to such baseless reports,” Wadia told Sportstar.
The PBKS co-owner didn’t divulge much from the meeting and said it was a good “brainstorming session” with all parties sharing their views and opinions.
“I am not going to say that… everyone gave their views and everyone gave their opinions. Like I said, you have to look at all stakeholders. It was a very good brainstorming session…. our objective is that fans are happier, media is happier, cricketers are happier. That’s why we were here. Impact player, capped, uncapped player everything was discussed,” said Wadia as per CricketNext.