IPL Team Purse Set for Boost: Potential Increase to Rs 120-125 Crore and 5-6 Retentions Expected

The owners of all ten franchises in Mumbai will meet with the IPL Governing Council on Wednesday, and during that meeting there may be an agreement to increase the team purse to up to Rs 120 crore and retain up to six options, including “Right To Match” (RTM).

A large auction is planned for the end of the year, therefore the procedures must be established. The BCCI-team owners meeting will cover five items, some of which may cause disagreements.

The owners’ suggestions will be considered, even if BCCI will not make the rules and regulations regarding team creation public.

In one area, all of the franchises the PTI spoke with concurred that the present team purse of Rs 100 crore should be enhanced by a minimum of 20 to 25 percent.

“I think that (increase of purse) is happening for sure. The standard increase should be anywhere between 20 to 25 percent and hence anything in the range of Rs 120 crore to 125 crore will be a fair deal. Most franchises would agree to it,” a senior official of one of the IPL franchises told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The larger problem, though, may be player retention, where it may be challenging to find a middle ground given that most teams have distinct needs.

Even though a strong franchise seems to have recommended up to eight retentions, including RTMs, it is unlikely that other franchises will concur.

At the moment, the IPL permits four retentions annually, three of which are Indian and one foreign. It’s thought that most teams aim for a retention rate of five to six.

“Obviously, continuity and maintaining a core is very important going forward. May be allow six (retentions) including a couple of RTM cards with at least one uncapped player being kept in the mix. But there could be some debate over the number of overseas retentions.

“There are teams like Delhi Capitals (Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head), who would want more than one overseas retention,” an IPL source added.

The ‘Impact Player’ rule may be the other point of contention. Although all-rounder development can be negatively impacted by the rule, as openly discussed by India’s T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli, none of the teams would object to a match in which 12 players are available.

They are in the cricket business, and because this regulation is making all-rounders scarce, it may be the BCCI’s responsibility to safeguard them.

However, a team such as Chennai Super Kings would retort that its lucky player, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will be able to play for another year due to the ‘Impact Player’ rule.

Dhoni, who now bats at No. 8, cannot afford to do that if the Impact Player rule is removed. He also cannot include Shivam Dube in the playing XI without using his bowling, which is batsman fodder.

IPL Central Merchandising Pool revenue sharing and IPL Gaming Rights will also be discussed.

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