No verdict on player retention as Rajasthan Royals dissent from majority

THE MEETING between the BCCI, IPL Governing Council, franchises and the Committee of Administration (CoA) could not produce a verdict on its IPL player retention policy. 

Although most teams were in favour of retaining five top players of their existing squads, Rajasthan Royals batted against it. While the Rajasthan franchise, who will be making a comeback in 2018 after a two-year suspension, demanded zero retention, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils requested for match cards instead of retention. 

It is learnt that Kings XI Punjab has also sought for two match cards to ensure that the team gets their old players to retain their fan base. Besides five retentions, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai franchises have also requested for two match cards - which will enable the team to buy the players back either on a higher or a lower price from the auction. 

Sources reported that the CoA heard all the team owners and will take a call on the retention policy in consultation with the IPL GC members in the days to come. A BCCI official working close to the development told TOI,

"The CoA and the IPL GC members will decide on the retention policy after weighing the pros and cons. But it is certain that retention will continue because the current board management doesn't want a handful of individuals to walk away with all the advantage."

It is also understood that KKR representatives raised an issue over CSK getting to retain their original top players of the likes MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, when they are supposed to start from scratch after serving the two-year ban.

However, the Lodha Committee sources clearly stated that it didn't mention any particular point on how the suspended teams would start their season - whether they would be allowed to retain their old players or will have to shop at the auction.

Interestingly, the Rajasthan team isn’t affected by the retention policy because they are preparing to start their IPL season with a clean slate.
 

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