Internet Desk: Good news for all the Indian Premier League franchise, as they can retain players for the 2018 edition. Though, as per reports, the number of players which a side can retain is yet to be decided as the BCCI haven’t said anything about this as of now. According to a report in Times of India, a top-level BCCI official said, “The retention policy would be there in all possibility. This is what the majority of franchises want. The only issue we need to thrash out is the number of players who can be retained. We need to work out whether it would be three or five players. For this very purpose, we have called the meeting of franchise owners on November 21 in Mumbai.”
Two franchises, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings who were banned for spot fixing reasons will make a return in the season 11 next year. On being asked about them, the official further said, “The first preference would always remain with RR and CSK. The IPL GC had been clear about it from the beginning. But if these players want to go to the auction pool, then these two franchises can’t do anything about it.”
The official concluded by saying, “The players would be given the option to decide over continuing with respective franchises or joining the auction pool. It will depend solely on them. Even if a franchise decides to open up its purse for a particular player, it can’t do so against his wishes. If a player has made up his mind to go under the hammer, no one can stop him. He will stay back only if he’s satisfied with the new offer his franchise is making.”