IPL 2025 – Franchises are asking for a two-year ban on international players coming out after being bought in the auction

The IPL franchise has proposed a two-year suspension for international players if they make themselves unavailable for the season after being bought in the auction without a valid reason. They also told the IPL to make it mandatory for international players to register for the big auction and not just bid for the mini auction expecting huge price tags. ESPNcricinfo found that almost all ten franchises agreed on those two points during their IPL meeting on Wednesday.

Many IPL teams have been hurt by international players withdrawing on the eve of the new season citing their own reasons. They pointed out that this kind of late withdrawal has a negative impact on the team’s performance because strategies are being planned to recall these international names and their unavailability leaves franchises trying to find replacements for many players from other countries.

The players told the IPL that they understood that the player’s board was withdrawing him in order to honor an international commitment, or if he was injured, or had family obligations that prevented him from joining the team. They are happy to make these offers as long as it is clear at the time of the auction about the player’s availability for the IPL season.

The problem that franchises face is that on several occasions, players who are bought at a low price make the auction after the auction. They even gave an example of a player’s manager telling a franchise that his client could be acquired if paid more.

The franchises also told the IPL that there have been many cases of famous overseas players skipping the big auctions in the last two cycles (2018-24) but making themselves available for smaller auctions to attract bigger bids. This is often due to a lack of top-level talent at smaller auctions.

The franchises felt that some of these players and their managers were trying to game the system so it was important that the IPL put some checks in place. Franchises say they understand if a new or upcoming overseas player signs up for small auctions, but big names should sign up for big auctions. If they don’t sell, they can go into a mini auction the following season.