All eyes will be on Rohit Sharma in the IPL Trading Window.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Now that the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini auction, which fetched record high pay cheques, is over, the action shifts to the Trading Window, which in technicality is open from Wednesday.
As per IPL Governing Council Rules, the Trading Window opens up a month after a season ends and stays open till a week before the auction date.
It then reopens after the auction, and is on till a month before the start of the new season.
The IPL 2024 season is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 22, but with the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, a change of date cannot be ruled out.
But all said and done, the Trading Window which basically allows the franchises to exchange players or bring in a new player is operational from now.
It is worth recalling that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was leading Gujarat Titans (GT) previously and had captained them to glory in the IPL 2022 season, was bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) in the previous Trading Window.
There will be more interest in this Trading Window especially with lots of uncertainty surrounding the future of former MI skipper Rohit Sharma. The grapevine is abuzz with rumours that the ‘Hitman’ might switch to a new franchise rather than playing under Pandya’s captaincy for a team which won five titles under his leadership.
Once the IPL mini auction got over, rumours of dissent in the MI camp came to the fore though their head coach and former South Africa international Mark Boucher sought to downplay the issue.
Social media has been abuzz with ‘conspiracy theories’ and rumours of senior players not being happy playing under Pandya and in this context the Trading Window becomes all the more interesting.
As per the rules, a player can be either bought directly or traded in exchange for a player, all subject to ratification by the IPL Governing Council.
The IPL mini-auction, in which 333 players went under the banner, saw 72 players being bought with a staggering amount of Rs. 230.45 cr spent on them.
It’s over to the Trading Window now and though the stakes are not as high as it was during the auction, there is going to be no dearth of enthusiasm, as Sharma could potentially head to a new franchise.