BCCI meeting with IPL franchise owners- debate between owners

BCCI and the IPL franchise owners met on 31st July 2024 to address certain rules and regulations ahead of the IPL mega auction.  The meeting was held at BCCI’s head office Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. It turned into a debate about the relevance and future of mega auctions. BCCI had stated that it would communicate its decision to the teams in the coming week. 

Highlight of the meeting:

  1. Debate on mega auction: Franchise owners such as Shah Rukh Khan from Kolkata Night Riders, and Kavya Maran from Sunrisers Hyderabad were the main advocates who opposed the “Mega Auction” and appealed for its discontinuation. The leaders of both teams, the previous year’s finalists, want to retain their high-performing sides for brand-building. 
  2. Shah Rukh Khan’s Argument: it was reported from a strong BCCI source, who was a part of the meeting that the owner of last year’s winning team had opposed the mega auction strongly and Shah Rukh Khan even had a heated argument with Ness Wadia, the co-owner of Punjab Kings. 
  3. Ness Wadia’s Response: the co-owner of Punjab Kings, Ness Wadia stated that there is no animosity or feeling of disappointment between him and Shah Rukh Khan. he further stated that everyone shared their views and opinions and that the best outcome for all stakeholders is essential. 
  4. SRH’s support: KKR found support from SRH’s owner Kavya Maran who claimed that her franchise support is towards having a “mini-auction” every year rather than conducting a mega auction. She also highlighted that “It takes a lot of time to build a squad and as discussed it also takes quite a bit of time and investment for the younger players to mature. It has taken Abhishek Sharma three years to become consistent with his performances. You would agree that there are many such examples in other teams too.” 
  5. Opposition from Delhi Capitals: Parth Jinda, the co-owner of Delhi Capitals was among those who opposed too many retentions. Parth Jindal made a clear statement that he was shocked that owners were debating upon the mega auction as he found it important. He said  “I was surprised that there was debate on whether to hold the big auction,” he said. “Some people said that there should not be a mega auction at all. There should be only smaller auctions. I’m not in that camp. I feel that it evens the playing field and it’s very good for everyone. It makes the IPL what it is. It makes it competitive. It makes it an even playing field. What we are learning is that team owners don’t want the auction. It’s just a few owners.” 
  6. Impact Rule Player: Jindal opposed the continuation of the Impact player rule, believing it hinders the development of all-rounder players and prefers the original XI vs XI format. “Some people want it because it gives a chance to young players to play in the IPL. Some people don’t want it because it is detrimental to Indian cricket in terms of the development of all-rounders. So it’s a mixed bag. I’m in the second camp. I don’t want it. I prefer the game as it is, XI vs XI. I think all-rounders are very important. You have different players who don’t bowl in the IPL or don’t bat in the IPL because of this rule, which is not good for Indian cricket,” he said.

Other members who joined the meeting were Kiran Kumar Gandhi of Delhi Capitals, Rupa Gurunath of Chennai Super Kings, Sanjiv Goenka of Lucknow Super Giants, Manoj Badale of Rajasthan Royals and Prathmesh Mishra of Royal Challenger Bangalore. A few owners attended the meeting via video conferencing including Ambani’s of Mumbai Indians. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *