Does IPL need an auction? Here's what Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders hierarchies feel

The 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) is just four months away, and the preparations are already underway. With a couple of new teams joining in, the mega auction has been experimentally slated for January. Ahead of the auction, the existing franchises were given the option of retaining up to four players.

While Tuesday happened to be the deadline, the teams are now done and dusted with their retentions. Some of the evident top players have been retained, while some have been surprisingly released. Nevertheless, the released players are all set to enter the auction pool, expecting to receive top bids.

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However, does the IPL auction make sense anymore? Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore stated that there is a tipping point in the league, and the auction hardly makes sense nowadays. Instead, he opted for the drafts system, trades and even the loan system, giving the franchises more freedom to build a squad for the longer run.

Speaking further, Mysore stated that while the auction was helpful initially, over a decade into the tournament, there is no return with the investments made in the auction nowadays. Also, he feels that the pre-auction retention undermines the value of the players, and it should be the auction that decides the player's price, be it through bidding or the Right-to-Match (RTM) cards.

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KKR retentions
Retained: Andre Russell (₹12 cr), Varun Chakravarthy (₹8 cr), Venkatesh Iyer (₹8 cr) and Sunil Narine (₹6 cr).
Released (significant players): Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik and Lockie Ferguson.
Retention types: Indians - 2, Overseas - 2
Purse deduction: ₹42 cr
Available purse: ₹48 cr

On the other hand, Delhi Capitals (DC) owner and chairman Parth Jindal says it is heartbreaking to invest time and money into the players, only to lose them three seasons later. "It's just that this auction process is built like this and I think going forward, the IPL really needs to look at it because it's not really fair that you build up a team, you give youngsters a chance, you groom them through your set-up, and they get opportunities, they play for your franchise, then they go and play for the county or their respective countries, and then, you lose them after three years," he told Star Sports.

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DC retentions
Retained: Rishabh Pant (₹16 cr), Axar Patel (₹9 cr), Prithvi Shaw (₹7.5 cr) and Anrich Nortje (₹6.5 cr).
Released (significant players): Shreyas Iyer, Avesh Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada.
Retention types: Indians - 3, Overseas - 1
Purse deduction: ₹42.5 cr
Available purse: ₹47.5 cr