Retention of players,format,duration of IPL 4 discussed

The IPL formally entered the post-Lalit Modi era on Thursday as franchisees and office-bearers of the BCCI met to work out the nitty-gritties of the tournament....

The IPL formally entered the post-Lalit Modi era on Thursday as franchisees and office-bearers of the BCCI met to work out the nitty-gritties of the tournament,including retention of players for the fourth edition,with two new teams joining the mix from 2011. The duration of the tournament and salary caps on players also figured in the discussions.

The meeting began with board president Shashank Manohar listing reasons for the board action against Modi and detailing alleged irregularities during the tenure of the suspended commissioner. On the retention of players,the BCCI wanted to stick to its plan of retaining four national and three international players per team. But eight teams,barring Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians,favoured fresh auction involving all the players.

They said that,as per their meeting with eight franchise owners and Modi held in Bangkok a few months ago,the board would allow the original eight franchisees to retain four national players with them. However,eight of the 10 team owners preferred a fresh auction. A poll was conducted with a 8-2 outcome, a franchise owner told The Indian Express.

While Chennai Super Kings,owned by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan,have MS Dhoni as the star attraction,the Mumbai Indians will not want to lose the services of Sachin Tendulkar. The franchises felt it will be unfair for the two new teams. There is also a business reason attached to it, another owner added.

Some team owners wanted Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya as their spokesperson but the BCCI said it would be wrong to have a separate core group and did not want any union kind of activity within the IPL.

Another issue was the duration of IPL IV. Despite the addition of two new teams,the BCCI is not keen on stretching the tournament since India will be co-hosting the World Cup from February 19-April 2. The IPL governing body is contemplating a change in format.

Mallya said the BCCI should stick to 94 matches on home-and-away basis and the salary cap should be raised from $7 million to $9 million. Some owners agreed to allow Indian players to join in late on the condition that they will be deducting their amount. We have to look at commercial aspects too. If any players joins in late,a certain amount will be deducted, said one of the owners.

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A three-member committee of Ravi Shastri,Sunil Gavaskar and MAK Pataudi will look at the franchisees recommendations. The IPL governing council will convene on Friday.