"It was not easy to convince the players," said a top official of a franchise which retained a couple of players. "The players have an inflated view of themselves. With the BCCI/IPL not fixing a rate, no player is satisfied with the price given. If all players were in the auction, there would not have been any scope for a bargain," the official said.
The buzz in the franchise circle is that most of the 24 retained players indulged in bargaining, some directly, some through their agents. This is only one half of the story.
The focus has now shifted to the auction, to be held on February 12 and 13 in Bangalore. There is almost a month left for the auction but the planning has started. Some teams have gone to Australia, scouting for talent. Some are consulting former players and selectors for advice on team formation.
A feature of the auction this time will be the presence of uncapped Indian players.
The IPL authorities always allowed uncapped overseas players in the auction but the Indian first class players used to be bought outside the sale.
It is difficult to predict if the uncapped players will command a high price but they will be assured of a reasonable amount to begin with. It is understood that the uncapped players will have a base price ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 30 lakh depending on the quantum of experience. That was the price of the uncapped players during the previous editions.
"We've not been told about the dynamics of the auction yet but we are made to understand that the base price for the uncapped players will be the minimum amount they were entitled for previously," a franchise official has revealed.
The capped players, ofcourse, will be allowed to fix their own price. Previously, the maximum base price was $400,000 with the minimum being $20,000. Now that the auction is being held on Indian rupee, the base prices go from Rs 12 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore. But the IPL has not spelt out on this as yet.
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