(Clockwise) Heinrich Klaasen, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. (Express Photos)
In this pre-auction season of negotiations, Sunrisers Hyderabad has given a headache to other IPL franchises. Their decision to retain Heinrich Klaasen at Rs 23 crore, Pat Cummins at Rs 18 crore and Abhishek Sharma at Rs 14 crore has spiced up the transfer talks between players and owners.
It is understood that with Klaasen getting a retention fee of Rs 23 crore, several Indian players are making similar demands from their franchises to stay back. This, according to multiple franchises, is the primary reason for teams failing to finalise their squads.
With the retention window deadline entering the final week – October 31 is the last day – the Indian Express understands that several franchises are still struggling to reach common ground. And the word around is that, several of the India players are now prepared to enter the auction pool.
“Once it became clear that Klaasen was being retained for Rs 23 crore, a lot of equations changed on the negotiation table,” a franchise executive tells The Indian Express. “There is no compulsion to follow the pay slab, so there has been a lot of back and forth. And Indian players are even checking their market value before committing to retention. There is plenty of demand and players know it. They are checking with other franchises if they will show interest. Even if two franchises show interest, they could end up getting a higher bid than what their current team is offering,” the executive says.
And there is also the other reason that the likes of Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Lucknow Super Giants haven’t yet decided their captain. “If you look at top Indian names who can also add brand value, there are very few. And there are even fewer options when it comes to seeing them at the auction. So in some cases, if top Indian names enter the auction pool, they could possibly get a bigger bid than what is being offered. It may not be the case for all, but for a few it is possible,” says another franchise official.
KL Rahul looks all but set to end his stay at Lucknow Super Giants. Last season, visuals of the franchise owner Sanjeev Goenka having an animated discussion with Rahul led to speculations that he could step down as captain immediately.
Similarly, at Kolkata Knight Riders, despite leading the franchise to its first title in a decade, Shreyas Iyer could be on the way out as Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are expected to be high on the franchise’s retention list. It is understood that the franchise wants to retain him, but whether the batsman accepts the offer remains the big question.
But the biggest mystery remains around Pant. Ever since he posted on X: “If I go to the auction. Will I be sold or not and for how much??” there have been murmurs that he too might move. The next few days could well see a lot of twists and turns, just like the IPL.
