The BCCI is set to hold the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022 in which teams can overhaul their entire squad. The mega auction is always a big boost for teams who are struggling to find the ideal combination as franchises can start team building from scratch. With two new teams likely to be added to for 2022, the mega auction has become even more interesting.As reported by the Times of India, ahead of next year's mega auction, the franchises would be allowed to retain a maximum of four players each. As per the conditions, the team management can either retain three Indian players and one overseas player or two Indian players and two overseas players. The franchises would deduct the salaries of these four players before entering the auction. With two new teams, the BCCI will also increase the purse from 85 crore to 90 crore which means an additional 50 crore would be added to the budget of all ten franchises by the BCCI.
The report further adds, in case if a franchise retains three players, Rs 15 cr, Rs 11 cr and Rs 7 cr would be the salary structure of those players, Rs 12.5 cr and Rs 8.5 cr if two players are retained; and Rs 12.5 cr if only one player is retained. "Some players may like the idea of not wanting to be retained and will want to head into the auction pool. That's because there's an increase in the salary purse and two new teams are being added. So, there'll be a rush to grab talent. Expect some leading Indian cricketers to forward their names for the auction," those tracking developments told TOI.Initially, the mega auction was to be held ahead of IPL 2021 but with franchises suffering losses due to the pandemic and also with not much time gap between IPL 2020 and 2021, the mega auction was postponed by a year. The mega auction is expected to be held in December this year while the two new franchises are expected to be introduced by October.
Among those who have shown interest in buying new IPL teams are Kolkata-based RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group; the Adani group based in Ahmedabad; Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd and the Torrent Group that is based in Gujarat. The UAE leg of IPL 2021 will be played between September 19 to October 15. Due to concerns over the COVID pandemic in India, the BCCI decided to shift the second leg to the UAE. UAE hosted IPL 2020 amid the global pandemic and it was a huge success. The first leg was held in India and 30 matches had been played till the season was suspended on May 4.
