Shahrukh vs Ness Wadia: Intense debate over retention policy, Mega auction in IPL owners’ meet
Shahrukh vs Ness Wadia: Intense debate over retention policy, Mega auction in IPL owners' meet
Though it’s still not clear whether the BCCI will decide to have the mega auction. Similarly, the meeting failed to arrive at a consensus on the retention policy as well.
August 1, 2024
A recent Indian Premier League (IPL) owners’ meeting in Mumbai saw a heated exchange between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Ness Wadia.
The intense IPL franchise owners meeting took place at the BCCI headquarters, at the Wankhede Stadium, on Wednesday, July 31. All franchises had their owners in attendance and Mumbai Indians joined the meeting virtually. The meeting was for the owners to put forth their views on the number of retentions ahead of this year’s mega auction.
It is learnt that all franchises are in favour of a smaller auction and pushed for more retentions during the meeting which lasted over two hours. Several franchises have been demanding 6-8 retentions during the mega auction while a few like Punjab Kings are for fewer numbers.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ principal owner Shah Rukh Khan spoke out against the mega auction at the meeting and was supported by a few other voices, including SunRisers Hyderabad co owner Kavya Maran, reports stated.
On the other hand, Ness Wadia favored a complete overhaul, advocating for fewer retentions. The disagreement between Khan and Wadia escalated into a heated argument during the meeting.
Nonetheless, Wadia denied any rift and downplayed the incident, describing it as “normal discussion” and affirming his long-standing relationship with Khan.
He said, “I have known Shah Rukh for more than 25 years. There is no animosity here. Everyone gave their views, and they had their opinions. At the end of the day, you have to look at all the stakeholders and do what’s best for all. That’s most important.”
“The franchise owners tabled feedback on player regulations and other commercial aspects, including central merchandising, licensing, and gaming. The BCCI will now take these recommendations to the IPL governing council for further deliberation and evaluation before formulating the IPL player regulations,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah told media.
Though it’s still not clear whether the BCCI will decide to have the mega auction. Similarly, the meeting failed to arrive at a consensus on the retention policy as well. The BCCI told the franchise owners that they would convey their decision by the end of August.
