The retention window for the eight older franchises is from November 1 to 30, while the window for the two new ones is from December 1 to 25
The two new franchises – Lucknow and Ahmedabad – will be allowed to acquire up to three players each from the player pool after the original eight teams have made their retention picks. The retention window for the eight older franchises is from November 1 to November 30, while the window for the two new ones is from December 1 to December 25. The IPL 2022 auction is likely to take place in January 2022.
If one of the eight older franchises retains four players, they will be debited INR 16 crore for the first, INR 12 crore for the second, INR 8 crore for the third and INR 6 crore for the fourth – making for a total deduction of INR 42 crore.
For all ten franchises, the amounts for retaining either three, two or one player are the same.
If they retain three players then their slabs are: INR 15 crore, INR 11 crore and INR 7 crore, for a total of INR 33 crore.
If two players are retained, then the slabs are INR 14 crore and INR 10 crore, for a total of INR 24 crore.
For only one player, INR 14 crore will be deducted from a franchise’s auction purse. If the sole retained player is uncapped, then the amount deducted will be INR 4 crore.
While the IPL has set out the salary slabs for retention, franchises are free to pay players whatever sum they mutually agree on. What will be deducted from a franchise’s auction purse is whichever amount is higher. If a franchise pays a player less than his retention slab, they will lose the retention slab amount. If a franchise pays a player more than the amount ascribed to a retention slab, then that higher amount will be deducted from the franchise’s auction purse. That applies to the two new franchises too.
For example, ahead of the mega auction in 2018, Royal Challengers Bangalore paid Virat Kohli INR 17 crore as their retention fee, and lost that amount from their purse, though the slab had been set at INR 15 crore for the first player’s retention.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the eight old franchises can retain up to a maximum of three Indian players, capped or uncapped. They can’t retain more than two overseas players either, and neither can they retain more than two uncapped Indian players.
The retention rules for the two new franchises are: not more than two Indian players – capped or uncapped, not more than one overseas player, and not more than one uncapped player.
It is likely that the two new franchises will have a separate draft for their retentions. There is a 25-day window for the new franchises since their retentions will also involve negotiations with the players they want to pick.