Reports: IPL's retention policy likely to continue

Dhoni would most likely be back in yellow next season

What's the story?

According to reports emerging from the Times of India, the BCCI is most likely to continue with the retention policy for the Indian Premier League next year.

"The retention policy would be there in all possibility. This is what the majority of franchises want. The only issue we need to thrash out is the number of players who can be retained. We need to work out whether it would be three or five players. For this very purpose, we have called the meeting of franchise owners on November 21 in Mumbai,” said a top BCCI official to TOI.

In case you didn't know...

Off-late, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the retention policy. There were a few reports which had also suggested that team owners were against the idea of retaining players.

Unlike the previous few seasons, all the players (apart from those retained) will go under the hammer for next year's auction.

The details:

According to the source, teams would be allowed to retain only those players who are interested in staying in the team.

“The players would be given the option to decide over continuing with respective franchises or joining the auction pool. It will depend solely on them. Even if a franchise decides to open up its purse for a particular player, it can’t do so against his wishes. If a player has made up his mind to go under the hammer, no one can stop him. He will stay back only if he’s satisfied with the new offer his franchise is making,” the official added.

What's next?

The final decision regarding the retention policy will be taken on November 21.

Author's take:

Retaining three players would be ideal for each team. If the number is increased to five, the auction might not be as interesting as imagined.