IPL 2022 retention rules: Old teams can retain four players, three early picks for new teams

10/30/2021

The retention rules for IPL 2022 auctions were laid officially on Saturday, October 30, by the The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The eight older teams can retain upto four players, and the new teams will get first choice for three picks from the remaining pool ahead of the auctions.

The RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) and CVC Capital Partners (Irelia Company Pte Ltd) won the ownership rights of the two new IPL franchises, Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively, on Monday, October 25.

Now with the league boasting 10 teams, the attention would shift to the auctions ahead of the 2022 edition. As per the new rules, the eight older teams will now be allowed to retain a maximum four players - three Indians and one overseas or two Indians and as many overseas. As for the retention of the Indian players, it is stated that a team cannot keep more than two uncapped players.

Following these initial retentions, the two new teams will be allowed to sign three players each from the remaining pool of players outside of auctions. Only one overseas player can be picked, and so is the limit on uncapped players.

"The 8 existing teams will first get the opportunity to retain a maximum of 4 Players and thereafter the 2 new teams will be able to retain a maximum of 3 players before the auction," the BCCI said in a mail to the franchises on Saturday, October 30, as reported by Cricbuzz.

"The window for the 8 existing teams to retain the players will be from the 1st November 2021 to 30th November 2021. Thereafter the 2 new teams will have the window to retain the players starting from 1st December 2021 to 25th December 2021."

The purse for the 2022 auction will be INR 90 crore (USD 12 million approx), slightly larger compared to the INR 85 crore bracket at the 2021 auction.

If a team retains four players, Rs 42 crore will be deducted from the purse, with Player 1, 2, 3 and 4 to get Rs 16 crore, Rs 12 crore, Rs 8 crore and Rs 6 crore respectively. The breakdown for three and two retentions is as follows:

Rs 33 crore deduction: Rs 15 crore for Player 1, Rs 11 crore for Player 2, Rs 7 crore for Player 3.

Rs 24 crore decuction: Rs 14 crore for Player 1 and Rs 10 crore for Player 2

If a team retains only one player, it will have to pay him Rs 14 crore on an annual basis, while each uncapped player retained will cost Rs 4 crore each.

"The sums set out above are the minimum amount(s) which will be deducted from a Franchisee's Salary Cap," clarified the statement. "If the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player set out above exceeds the relevant sum set out above, then an amount equal to that higher League Fee shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee's Salary Cap. If the League Fee agreed with a Retained Player is less than the relevant sum set out above, then an amount equal to the relevant sum set out above shall be deducted from the relevant Franchisee's Salary Cap."

The BCCI and the IPL Governing Council are yet to announce the official dates for the IPL 2022 auctions.