The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looks to finalise the mega auction plan before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, a big difference in opinion has emerged among franchise owners. While the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad reportedly want to retain 7-8 players, other franchise like Punjab Kings want minimal retention. As the franchise bosses sat with the BCCI secretary Jay Shah to finalise the plans, a heated debate erupted between PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia and KKR's Shah Rukh Khan.
In a chat on Cricbuzz, Wadia later revealed that the intense chat with Shah Rukh was only over the matter of the meeting that took place, but there’s no animosity between the two.
"I have known Shah Rukh for more than 25 years. There is no animosity here," the co-owner of Punjab Kings said, while refusing to dwell upon his side's position on the issue. "Everyone gave their views, and they had their opinions. At the end of the day, you have to look at all the stakeholders and do what's best for all. That's most important," he added.
After the meeting, the Delhi-based franchise co-owner Parth Jindal said that some teams want the impact player rule because it gives a chance to the young players to play in the T20 tournament.
"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 allrounders. So it's a mixed bag. I'm on the second camp. I don't want it. I prefer the game as it is 11 versus 11, and I think all-rounders are very important. And 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," Jindal was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
The report stated that Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran suggested that "players could be secured via a plain retention process or a combination of retention and RTM at the auction or all exclusively via the right-to-match (RTM) card."
The co-owner of Delhi Capitals added that he was 'surprised' to see that few franchises were against the mega auction.
"I was surprised. There was a debate. 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 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," Jindal added.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, co-owner of Punjab Kings Ness Wadia, and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan were spotted after the meeting.
With ANI Inputs