Reports : Teams may be allowed to retain three players for 2018 IPL

The next season of the IPL will be a grand one with a mega auction ahead of the tournament. Fans will see, some big players signing up for new teams, but IPL governing council has reportedly decided to give franchises a chance to retain three of their key players. Ahead of next year's IPL auction, IPL chief operating officer, Hemang Amin, met with representatives of all teams to gather suggestions ahead of the final plan.

According to a Cricinfo report, the council will meet again in the upcoming week where they will discuss the idea. They will conduct a workshop with all eight franchises on November 14 in which the final decision will be made on the proposal. Before the final call, some of the officials suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one foreign player or two overseas and one Indian player. 

Not all the franchises seem to agree on the idea but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are keen on retaining marquee players.

Rajasthan Royals are making a comeback after a two-year suspension. Besides Royals, CSK were the other team suspended for two years due to their involvement in the 2013 IPL corruption case. If the IPL approves the proposal of player retention, both these franchises would be able to get their favorite picks with the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith, Brendon McCullum, and Faf du Plessis all there for the taking. 

The council are also concerned about the budget for the auction. Some of the rich franchises want a maximum purse of INR 80 crore and other teams are happy with INR 75 crore. In next week's meeting, the governing council will also discuss the right-to-match-card option.