The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the eight original Indian Premier League (IPL) teams can retain a maximum of four players while the two new teams will be able to have three players outside of the auction, something which was first reported by Cricbuzz.

“The 8 existing team 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 afternoon.

The BCCI further confirmed that the salary Cap for the IPL 2022 Season will be Rs. 90 Crs for all the teams adding that the “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 BCCI also stated that the old franchises cannot retain more than three Indians (capped/uncapped) players while restricting the number of overseas players in the retention list to two. It has clearly said that a team cannot keep more than two uncapped players.

As for the new teams, two Indians can be picked outside the auction while number of overseas players can only be one. Besides, the new teams can pick only one uncapped player before auction.

Restrictions on salary cap

The BCCI has also outlined how much funds will be deducted from the salary cap as per their choices of retentions. If a team retains four players, Rs 42 crore will cut from the player purse, while three retentions will lead to a reduction of Rs 33 crores while two retentions will result in downsizing Rs 24 crore. If a team retains only one player, it will lose Rs 14 crore from its purse while each uncapped player retained will cost Rs 4 crore each.

The board has also mentioned the salary of each player in case of four retentions – Rs 16 crore for Players 1, Rs 12 crore for Player 2, Rs 8 crore for players 3 and Rs 6 crore for Player 4.

In case of three retentions, the fee for player 1 will be Rs 15 crore, Player 2 will be Rs 11 crore and Player 3 will be 7 crore. Two retentions will lead to salary of Rs 14 crore for Player 1 and Rs 10 crore for Player 2. If a team keeps only one player, it will have to pay him Rs 14 crore annually.

The BCCI has also clarified, “The sums set out above are the minimum amount(s) which will be deducted from a Franchisee’s Salary Cap. 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.”

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