All you need to know about IPL 2014 auctions

Mumbai Indians could either wield their joker card on Mitchell Johnson or Glenn Maxwell.

So, the player retentions are done with, and now the attention will shift to something that is unique to the IPL. Something that probably generates as many eyeballs as the tournament proper – ‘The Auction’.

So, all the strategies will be chalked up by the franchises to give their city a chance at winning the ultimate domestic T20 title going around. How does this auction work though?

Shuffling of players after IPL 6

After IPL 6, each franchise was reduced to not having a single player on its rosters. However, leading up to IPL 7, each franchise was given the opportunity to retain a maximum of five players, who were contracted by the franchise during IPL 6.

But there was a catch in retaining any player. A fixed amount would be deducted from the franchise’s auction purse of Rs. 60 crore (approx. US$ 9.6 million, at the current exchange rate) for each player retained:

For retaining capped players

• Rs. 12.5 crore for first player
• Rs. 9.5 crore for second player
• Rs. 7.5 crore for third player
• Rs. 5.5 crore for fourth player
• Rs. 4 crore for fifth player

For retaining uncapped player

• Rs. 4 crore for each uncapped player

For example, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals have retained 5 players each, but since RR retained 2 uncapped players, as compared to CSK and MI who retained all capped players, they will have more money left in their auction purse.

Auctions

After the player retentions are complete, the auction will happen at ITC Gardenia Hotel in Bangalore on February 12 and 13, 2014.

Before the auction, each player will have a fixed base price. This base price is set depending upon the number of international matches played, and the magnitude of the players’ achievements on the international circuit.

An auctioneer is appointed, who conducts the proceedings of the auction. Each time the auctioneer pulls a player’s name out of the hat, there is a bidding process that goes on for the player as in any normal auction, and the player is ultimately sold to the highest bidder.

What is Rights to Match card?

For this edition of the IPL auction, the Governing Council has introduced a ‘Right to Match’ card. This card can be flashed at a time when the franchise wants to retain one of its existing players.

This type of retention can be done by just matching the highest bid that has come in from the auction process, and the player would be retained. However, the number of ‘Right to Match’ card a franchise has available, depends on the number of players that have already been retained.

If a franchise retains no players, it will have three ‘Right to Match’ cards at its disposal. If a franchise retains one or two players, then that franchise will have two ‘Right to Match’ cards at their disposal during the auction. If more than two players are retained by a franchise, then that franchise will have only one ‘Right to Match’ card to play with, during the auctions.

Franchises are allowed to take no more than 4 capped Indian players via a combination of retention prior to the auction and by the usage of the ‘Right to Match’ card.

Also, there is a cap on the number of players each franchise can have in their squad. Franchises can have a minimum of 16, and a maximum of 27 players on their rosters with not more than 9 players being from overseas.

Once the squads are also filled, come the summer, it will be time for the action to begin, and as many a TV show has already been named, it will be 6 weeks of ‘Cricketainment’.

Budget remaining for each of the teams:

Chennai Super Kings (5 players retained) – Rs 21 crore – 1 RTM card (NOT for capped a Indian player since CSK have already retained 4 capped Indian players)

Delhi Daredevils (0 players retained) – Rs 60 crore – 3 RTM cards

Kings XI Punjab (2 players retained including 1 uncapped) – Rs 43.5 crore – 2 RTM cards

Kolkata Knight Riders (2 players retained) – Rs 38 crore – 2 RTM cards

Mumbai Indians (5 players retained) – Rs 21 crore – 1 RTM card

Rajasthan Royals (5 players retained including 2 uncapped) – Rs 22.5 crore – 1 RTM card

Royal Challengers Bangalore (3 players retained) – Rs 30.5 crore – 1 RTM card

Sunrisers Hyderabad (2 players retained) – Rs 38 crore – 2 RTM cards