IPL considering draft system to ensure player continuity in teams

The main fight in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is always over continuity with the franchises who have a strong core group reluctant to release their players for auction. It ends up getting a bit challenging for other franchises. Hence, there is still a debate over whether the mega auction is the best way out. (IPL AUCTION 2018 DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India are mulling over the idea of introducing a draft system for IPL, said Hemang Amin, Chief Operating Officer, after the gruelling two-day auction.

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“This time, we had this big auction after four years because we had two suspended teams (back after two years). So, we extended the player regulations by one year and had the auction after four years. Going forward, the thinking is we will not have this mega auction but will also consider having a draft system for new players, which can act as a feeder system for the team also. The IPL GC is already thinking on those lines...how to cut down on the big auctions and have continuity with the teams,” said Amin.

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The draft system should be acceptable to the franchises now as most of them have managed to build a decent team from the auction.

On the number of unsold players, he said: “If you look at the 2014 auction, we had presented around 320 players before going into the accelerated bidding process. This time, we have learnt from previous years. We presented 170 players of which around 120 were sold. If you compare to 2014, when 200 players went unsold, this time it was 50 or 60 who went unsold. Also, on day one 70 out of 110 were sold. So, we’re trying to reduce the number of unsold players and effectively manage time as well.”