Shahrukh Khan, PBKS Co-owner Ness Wadia Fight in IPL Meeting
BCCI's IPL 2025 team owners' meeting saw heated debates over player retention and mega auction policies.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is undoubtedly the most awaited cricket tournament every year. The BCCI puts in a lot of effort and planning to execute it right from the auctions to the opening ceremonies, finals match, and award ceremony.
A crucial part of this planning is the IPL team owners’ meeting where the BCCI discusses and takes suggestions about the upcoming IPL season, especially the auction. The IPL team owners’ meeting for IPL 2025 was conducted at the BCCI headquarters in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on 31st July 2024.
While the BCCI issued a statement claiming a 'productive dialogue' with team owners over the preparations for IPL 2025, an unnamed top BCCI member revealed what truly happened at the meeting to several media reporters.
Several team owners spoke against the mega auction, which is usually held every year before the start of the IPL. They highlighted the need to have a stable set of players and stable rewards for scouting and backing young players who go on to become superstars.
During the discussion on player retention policy, Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia allegedly got into an intense and heated argument. They argued over the number of retentions that should be allowed for IPL 2025. Shah Rukh was in favour of maximum retention with 7-8 players, while Wadia was against it and wanted even fewer player retentions than the current rule. Currently, 3 Indian and 2 international players can be retained.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s CEO Kavya Maran fully supported Shah Rukh during the argument, stating that “it takes a lot of time and effort to build” the team with new players.
As a result, the meeting did not yield any 'real outcome', but the BCCI understood how the team owners felt about some of the most important IPL features. The IPL governing council will take the final call on all the suggestions made by the team owners after discussing all the points from the meeting.
Later, Wadia revealed that his “intense chat” with Shah Rukh was only over the matter of the meeting and claimed that there was no animosity between them.
Do you think IPL 2025 will have different rules? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
