IPL 2018: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli suggest changes to uncapped players' salary caps

Mumbai: The Indian Premier League is renowned not only for its glamour, but is also one of the biggest T20 leagues around the globe when it comes to money. Despite the whooping amount being spent on high-profile players, uncapped players also take home a favourable cheque receipt.

Take the 2017 auctions for example. Thangarasu Natarajan, an uncapped player was purchased for Rs 3 crore by the Kings XI Punjab, while KC Cariappa, did not feature in the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka, also bagged Rs 2.4 crore.

However, the 2018 auctions might not see anything like this again. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have requested the BCCI to put a salary cap on uncapped players, in a report by the BCCI, according to The Indian Express.

The reason is this – the fancy IPL contracts reduced the importance of First-Class cricket in the eyes of domestic players.

“A classic case was Cariappa, who was bought by KKR for Rs 2.4 crore in 2015. He had played a few games in the Karnataka Premier League but hadn’t played for the Karnataka Ranji side.

"It really sends a wrong message to all first-class players. On one side we have some who play non-stop Ranji Trophy games and earn only 10-12 lakh in an entire season, and here comes a boy who is getting so much.

"Kohli and Dhoni felt it wasn’t right and BCCI should keep a salary cap on these uncapped players,” a source in the BCCI informed, according to The Indian Express.

MS Dhoni was on Wednesday retained by Chennai Super Kings for the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League, and was later named the captain of the side. The auctions for the upcoming season will be held in February next year.