The development comes three days after the deadline for franchises to finalise their list of retained and released players. Players will have to submit their names along with No-Objection Certificates from their respective boards and according to a report on Cricbuzz, have until Thursday to complete the process.
The IPL auction is set to take place in Dubai on 19 December, with the trading window set to remain active till the 12th. Given it will be taking place right after the ICC World Cup, the top performers from the mega event will heavily sought after by the ten franchises including Pat Cummins, who led Australia to their sixth world title with a six-wicket victory over India.
The IPL Retention Day on Sunday witnessed some interesting calls made by the franchise, with Chennai Super Kings releasing all-rounder Ben Stokes although the England Test captain had already indicated his intention to pull out of the 2024 season. Additionally, Kolkata Knight Riders released India all-rounder Shardul Thakur while Mumbai Indians parted ways with express quick Jofra Archer.
Five-time champions MI also dominated headlines for welcoming Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya back into their fold through an all-cash trade. Pandya led the Titans for two seasons, helping them win the title on IPL debut in 2022, and and returns to the franchise that he had represented for seven seasons since his debut in 2015.
There are a total of 77 slots available across the 10 teams following the retentions and releases with a maximum of 30 overseas players. More than 700 players are expected to sign up for the auction although not everyone will make it to the shortlist that the BCCI prepares ahead of the auction. The shortlist had 405 players ahead of the last year’s auction that took place in Kochi.
Kajal Agarwal
