IPL 7: Biggest talent pool marks today's auction

With 219 capped players and 292 uncapped players, this is by far the biggest pool of players up for auction in IPL's history

On Wednesday, eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises will bid to acquire the best talent for the T-20 cricket tournament’s seventh edition. With 219 capped players (169 Indians and 50 foreigners), 292 uncapped players (255 Indians and 37 foreigners), this is the biggest pool up for auction in the IPL history.

The 2014 edition of the IPL has been plagued by many woes. First, the dates and final venues of the matches haven’t been announced yet, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is awaiting an announcement on the dates of the general elections.

Also, the Mudgal committee, constituted by the Supreme Court to probe the betting and spot fixing scandal that broke out last year, found Gurunath Meiyappan, an official of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings and the son-in-law of BCCI chief N Srinivasan, was involved in betting during IPL matches. Detractors of Meiyappan, as well as Srinivasan, were quick to suggest Chennai Super Kings be scrapped from the tournament. However, BCCI Vice-President, former IPL chairman and Union minister Rajeev Shukla has said the auction will be carried out as planned.

This is the first time uncapped Indian players have been included in the auction list. Also, until last year, all transactions were carried out in dollars; from this year until 2017, all transactions will be carried out in rupees. This has brought down the salary cap from Rs 75 crore ($12.5 million at 60 a dollar) to Rs 60 crore this year. The highest base price of players remains unchanged at Rs 2 crore ($400,000 last year).

This year’s auction, to be held in Bangalore, will also see franchises exercise the right to match, or the joker card. Under this provision, a franchise can bid for a player who was on its squad in 2013, but wasn’t retained subsequently. The number of joker cards available with the team depends on the number of players retained — if a team doesn’t retain a single player, it can exercise the right to match three times. If a team retains five players, it can exercise it just once.

This, observers say, might be a game-changer for the 2014 auction, though franchises will have to be cautious while using the joker card. “The timing of using the card will be very crucial. If a franchise waits too long, it might run out of money to challenge a bid and if it jumps in with the card too early, it might end up exhausting its money,” says Indranil Blah, chief operating officer, CAA KWAN.

Delhi Daredevils, which hasn’t retained any of its existing players, is tipped to be the most aggressive, while other teams have retained at least a couple of prime players. The Delhi franchise has the entire salary amount of Rs 60 intact.