The Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction has been based on this simple principle. The franchise that bids the highest for a certain cricketer eventually gets to buy him.
However, it could change a bit at the next auction for IPL-7, slated to be held in February. The players' 'auction' may end up acquiring a whole new meaning if the suggestion of a particular franchise is accepted by the IPL's Governing Council and ratified.
This franchise has been in talks with one of its marquee overseas players in a bid to retain him for the next three seasons. The franchise is learnt to have offered this cricketer - a spin bowler - an amount slightly in excess of Rs 10 crore but the cricketer still wants more.
Unable to seal a deal, the franchise in question has suggested that the auctions be revolutionised by introducing a 'Joker Card' (common in card games).
Under this arrangement, the franchise would release this player for the auction but would have the first right of refusal in case another franchise bids for him. Holding the 'Joker Card' would allow the franchise to wait till the highest bid for the player is reached before throwing in a counter-bid if it was still interested in that player.
The franchise owners insist that it would be the fairest way to determine the player's real market value and none of the parties would feel short-changed. They have a point, but the problem is that more than half of the IPL franchises are against the 'Joker' rule and want to stick to the conventional auction methodology that has worked well all these years.
The IPL Governing Council, on the other hand, is all set to give franchises the green light to retain a maximum of five players each. "The five-player retention rule has been introduced because one leading franchise from south insisted on it," said a source, who was part of the two-day franchises' workshop held in Singapore. "No other franchise insisted on retention of five players," he added.
The owner of another leading franchise from south maintained that nowhere in the world had he seen such 'weird' auction rules (referring to the proposed 'Joker Card'). Another franchise owner countered this by pointing out that "auctions all over the world don't have retentions either".
The 'Joker Card' option - proposed by one franchise and seconded by another - allows a franchise retaining all five players to have one 'Joker Card', franchise retaining three of four players two cards, and so on. The more number of players a franchise retains, the fewer 'Joker Cards' it gets. The concept has not gone down well with most.
"It just complicates the process. Why not have a simple auction and let the franchises bid. When players are sold for a million (dollars) or more, it adds to the excitement anyway," said another franchise owner.
The other argument against the introduction of the 'Joker Card' is that the franchise holding the 'trump card' would have an unfair advantage over other bidders as he can walk away with the player after the others have done all the hard and strategic bidding.
"If a franchise really wants to hold on to certain players, then the Governing Council can introduce a rule under which each owner can retain two or three Indian cricketers, two from overseas and one uncapped player, leaving the to be included in the auction pool," opined a franchise owner.
It has been reliably learnt that the Governing Council may ratify the 'Joker Card' rule, but is yet to finalise how, and how many such cards are allotted to franchises. Brace up for a whole new ball game as the IPL redefines the word 'auction'.
SALARY CAP AND MORE...
Franchises can spend only Rs 60 crore on players' salaries with a 5% increase every year.
All players, Indian and overseas, will be paid in Indian currency.
Instead of handing out 2+1 year contracts to players, franchises can now sign one-year contracts with the option of extending it on yearly basis
More money for players in CLT20
From 2014 onwards franchises will have to pay their players 10% more of their stipulated fee if the team makes it to the Champions League.
The extra 10% rule will apply only to players in the 15-member squad of 15 for the Champions League.
Scheduling still the big worry
It is unlikely that the IPL will be shifted out of India because of lack of suitable overseas venues keeping in mid India's prime-time television viewership.
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and South Africa are the available options, but each has its own drawbacks
Efforts are on to hold the 8-team tournament involving 59 matches in India, carefully scheduling games in manner that they don't clash with election dates in the states concerned.
The downside of this methodology is that the home and away scheduling of matches will take a hit and a few franchises may cry foul.
Match-fixing issues addressed but team owners ignored...
The two-day workshop discussed the menace of betting and spot-fixing by players but did not touch upon the role of franchise owners in such a scenario.
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