Anil Kumble (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Appearing on JioCinema’s ‘Match Center Live Auction War Room’ on the eve of the IPL 2024 Player Auction, IPL expert Anil Kumble, spoke about the possibility of the Rs 20-crore mark being breached on Tuesday. He also spoke about finding a balance between the purse for Indian and overseas players. Excerpts:
Anil Kumble: “No, I don’t think the Rs 20-crore mark will be breached. This is where I feel in a squad of 25 players, where you have eight overseas players, the purse also needs to be one-third for the overseas players. I think that’s something that should happen eventually. Otherwise, you will see a lot of disparity at the auction. I know the overseas fans won’t be happy with what I am saying, but I think it’s important that you look at that to be a benchmark
“You have a separate overseas purse, otherwise, you will see this disparity of 50%, 60% of the squad where you have options for only four players. With eight Indian players now part of the playing XI, that will help them, especially in these smaller auctions. There will be the challenge of bridging this gap and you will invariably go to the overseas players.”
The IPL 2024 auction is all set to take place on December 19 in Dubai with a total of 333 players set to go under the hammer. With released and retained players already out in public by all the franchises, teams would move forward to complete their squads in the upcoming mega event.
In one of the major developments ahead of IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya as their new skipper, replacing veteran Rohit Sharma. Notably, Pandya was traded by Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans and reports suggest that Pandya agreed to the transfer provided he gets the captaincy of the five-time champions.