IPL: Auction to have 'Joker' cards for players

Mumbai: In a first of its kind, the upcoming auction for the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in January is all set to witness the use of 'joker cards'. This unprecedented move will see players being marketed as 'jokers'.

Before speculating or reading in between the lines, let's make it clear what it means at the outset itself. The lucrative annual domestic T20 cricketing tournament has come up with a novel theme which makes it possible for franchises to oppose the purchase of a player who currently is a part of their squad.

In simpler words, for instance, a cash-rich team like the Mumbai Indians can play the joker card and buy someone like Dinesh Karthik if the player is purchased by another team, in case that they have adequate amount at their disposal.

Similarly, a team like Chennai Super Kings or Kings XI Punjab can retrieve players like Dwayne Bravo and Praveen Kumar who played for them respectively in the last three seasons.

The reason for the concept is to allow the teams to retain the nucleus of their squad at the current market rate. The number of joker cards for a team will be commensurate with the number players the team eventually decides to retain. The cards are over and above the retentions allowed for each side.

The concept was discussed threadbare at the recent workshop for the franchises in Singapore. The IPL governing council will come out with a policy in the coming weeks spelling out on the number of cards for each team.

However, it is understood that a team that retains five players can have up to three joker cards and a side with three or four retentions will be eligible for four joker cards. A team that refrains from retaining any player will have five joker cards.

The benefit of joker cards is that they enable a franchise to buy a player at the current market value. Sure, a team can retain the same player but then it would never know the market value of the player once retained. As per the IPL rules, the fee for a retained player is a private arrangement between that particular player and the franchise and the owners will not have to disclose the remuneration paid to the retained player.

Thus, the world never got to know how much MS Dhoni was paid by Chennai Super Kings and how much Sachin Tendulkar got from Mumbai Indians. These were the players, apart from many others, who were retained by different teams after IPL 3.

So with a minimum of three joker and cards a maximum of five retentions, a team virtually keeps eight of their regular playing XI. That means the teams allowed to retain sole of their squad before the start of the auction.

For example, Mumbai can go to auction predictably retaining players like Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard and obtain Pragyan Ojha, Kartik and Mitchell Johnson by playing the joker cards. That is more than 70 per cent of their regular playing XI.

IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal could not be reached for a comment but a couple of IPL governing council members and franchise officials confirmed that joker cards will definitely be seen at the auction next month.