NewDelhi: The BCCI officials have proposed the idea of IPL teams retaining a maximum of three players before the auctions take place next year.
There will be another meeting again next week to discuss player retention, maximum purse and right-to-match-card rules. The rules will be finalised on November 14.
While not all teams are not keen on retaining players, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, who will be returning to the tournament after a two-year suspension were both keen on player retention.
Depending on the maximum number of players that can be retained, CSK and RR will be able to pick players from Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions, whose squads include the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis.
Dhoni is expected to be a hot property if he enters the action and the IPL franchises will also be quite keen to pay big bucks to rope in Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who played for Mumbai Indians in the last two editions of the tournament.
Pandya, whose India career has seen a meteoric rise and has become a quintessential limited-overs impact player, was signed by the Mumbai franchise for Rs 10 lakh two seasons ago.
With the BCCI on the verge of meeting IPL team owners, top sources told The Times of India that Pandya has informed the board of his desire to be up for auction.
“Hardik wants to be at the auction and the rule says that if he isn’t ready to play for Mumbai Indians, he can certainly be at the auction,” a top board official said on Friday.
There are suggestions that Virat Kohli’s IPL team -Royal Challengers Bangalore -is keen on having Pandya.
“Pandya could be the next big thing in the IPL if he is at the auction. After all, the teams will retain big India players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma,” sources said.
Bureau Report
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