By Zainab Shafiq 
In what would be a big step to retain the sanctity and competitiveness of the Indian Premier League, franchises have suggested a two-year ban on overseas players who make themself unavailable after being bought at the auction without any valid reason. All ten franchises virtually agree to various points to tackle the problem of player withdrawals in the recent meeting with IPL.
The franchises have insisted that overseas players’ registration must be made mandatory by the IPL for the mega auction. The suggestion is to prevent a trend where top players miss the mega auction and then turn up for mini auctions for better price tags due to the scarce supply of top talent. While in the last mega auction, the highest bid was INR 15.25 crores for Ishan Kishan, in the recent mini-auction, it went as high as INR 24.75 crores for Mitchell Starc and INR 20.50 crores for Pat Cummins.
Franchises have very often been at the receiving end of an overseas player pulling out on the eve of a new season, citing personal reasons. These late pullouts upset pre-devised strategies for franchises and, more importantly, left them scrambling for replacements from an extremely constrained pool of available international talent. While the withdrawal of players due to international commitments, injuries, or family emergencies is understandable, franchises are looking for clarity when it comes to the availability of players during the time of the auction itself.
The franchises cited the instance of how a player’s manager haggled for better remuneration for his availability post-auction, and how some players and managers are manipulating the system. They believe that checks need to be put in place to prevent this manipulation. One of the measures under consideration is making new or upcoming overseas players eligible for registration during mini-auctions; big-ticket names have to feature first in the mega auctions, and if unsold, they can go for the mini-auctions.
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