Heated debate over mega auction at IPL owners' meeting

A major discussion took place at the IPL owners' meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, focusing on whether to continue with the mega auctions. Several voices, including Kolkata Knight Riders' Shah Rukh Khan and SunRisers Hyderabad's Kavya Maran, who are the champions and runners-up of IPL 2024 respectively, spoke against the mega auctions. However, the BCCI has not yet made a decision and plans to inform the owners by the end of August.

A top BCCI source revealed that Shah Rukh Khan was very vocal about his opposition to the mega auctions. At one point, he had a heated argument with Ness Wadia, the co-owner of Punjab Kings, about the number of player retentions. Shah Rukh was in favor of allowing more retentions, while Wadia was against it.

Kavya Maran supported KKR's stance, saying that building a squad takes time and investment. "It has taken Abhishek Sharma three years to become consistent with his performances. There are many similar examples in other teams," Maran said.

The decision on the mega auction will impact the number of retentions allowed. If the BCCI decides against the mega auction, there might not be any need for retentions.

"The franchise owners discussed player regulations and other commercial aspects like central merchandising, licensing, and gaming," the BCCI stated in a media release. "These recommendations will be taken to the IPL Governing Council for further evaluation before finalizing the IPL player regulations."

Other owners at the meeting included Kiran Kumar Grandhi and Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals, Sanjiv Goenka of Lucknow Super Giants, Rupa Gurunath of Chennai Super Kings, Manoj Badale of Rajasthan Royals, and Prathmesh Mishra of Royal Challengers Bangalore. Some owners, like the Ambanis of Mumbai Indians, attended via video conference.

After the meeting, Parth Jindal spoke to the media and expressed surprise at the debate over the mega auction. "I'm personally in favor of it," he said.

Jindal also mentioned that there was a debate on the Impact Player rule, with differing views from the franchises. Delhi Capitals opposed the rule, arguing that it hinders the development of allrounders. Jindal confirmed that the BCCI will provide updates on the rules by the end of August.