Several IPL franchises, including Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, wish to keep their high-performing players, and thus oppose the mega auction that would enable teams to significantly alter their rosters.

Shahrukh Khan and Ness Wadia differ on the IPL mega auction plan

At the IPL franchise owners’ meeting on Wednesday, tensions reportedly flared between Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Ness Wadia, co-owner of Punjab Kings, over the IPL mega auction planned for the next season, according to Cricbuzz. SRK was backed by Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO Kavya Maran, who remarked that “it takes a lot of time to build” the squad.

The meeting, held at the BCCI Headquarters, covered various topics as the owners sought to finalise plans for the forthcoming season. However, the decision to conduct mega auctions was a major point of contention among the franchise owners.

Teams are expected to be limited to retaining no more than five players and will have one Right to Match (RTM) card, which allows a franchise to match the final bid for a player from their previous season’s squad.

Several IPL franchises, including Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, wish to keep their high-performing players, and thus oppose the mega auction that would enable teams to significantly alter their rosters.

The IPL franchise owners’ meeting was attended by SRK of Kolkata Knight Riders, Kavya Maran of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sanjiv Goenka and Shaswat of Lucknow Super Giants, KK Grand and Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals, and Ness Wadia of Punjab Kings.

Wadia addressed the situation, stating there was no truth to the reports of any dispute. “I have known Shah Rukh much before the IPL started. I know his family and I have the utmost regard for him and the family. We go back a long way and there’s absolutely no truth to such baseless reports,” Wadia told Sportstar.

BCCI statement on the meeting

In response to the meeting, the BCCI issued a statement the following day, describing it as a “constructive dialogue with owners of the IPL franchise”. BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated on Thursday, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday organised a constructive dialogue with the owners of the 10 franchises on various subjects pertaining to the upcoming season of the IPL.”

He added, “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.”