Time for IPL to move away from auction approach and implement draft system

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • The IPL mega-auction has started drawing criticisms.

    The mega-auction style of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come under fire from the New Zealand Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA).

    In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Heath Mills, chief executive of the NZPCA said: “The IPL Auction is such an undignified, cruel and unnecessary employment practice. Ridiculous that it exists today, belongs in the medieval ages.

    “There’s a lot of good things about the IPL and it’s been great for cricket but I’d like to see it mirror the rest of professional sport in the way they engage athletes,” Mills added.

    This brings up the question of whether the IPL needs to move away from the auction system into a draft style approach adopted by many professional leagues around the world.

    Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has incorporated the ‘mega’ auction which has turned into a spectacle of its own. When once thinks about the scramble for the world’s best cricketers, the picture of auctioneer Richard Madley wielding the hammer springs to mind immediately.

  • IPL Auction 2018 verdict: Sunrisers Hyderabad lead the way while Delhi Daredevils show promise

  • While the approach of the various franchises bidding for an individual player makes for some great television, it does present the possibility of a player going unsold for all to see. Several big names have gone unsold over the years with England’s Joe Root the latest such example.

    High profile names like Root have gone unsold over the years.

    High profile names like Joe Root have gone unsold over the years.

    The very idea that a player has no control over his destiny once entered in the auction seems to run contrary to most professional leagues. Not many have complained until now as the IPL kept creating cricket’s newest millionaires but the auction-style approach was always going to be questioned at some point.

    The signs are there that the IPL has been mulling over a change and it was all but confirmed by its chief operating officer Hemang Amin at the end of the recently concluded two-day action.

    “Going forward, the thinking is that we will reduce, maybe not have mega auctions, but consider having a draft system for new players to come in, which acts as feeder system to teams. Hence, IPL Governing Council is thinking on the lines of how to cut down on the big auction and have the continuity with teams,” he had stated.

    Continuity with the teams will be important for the eight franchises in the league to create a sustainable fan base over the years. The constant chopping and changing over the past decade has seen players turn out for three to four different franchises in recent years.

    To parade the players like cattle in the auction oversteps some ethical boundaries while also hampering continuity across the teams. A draft system is now the need of the hour. The IPL has shown signs that it is willing to evolve and such a move in upcoming editions would be very much welcome.

    Recommended