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Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was involved in an intense argument with Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia over retention policy in a meeting held by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners. Shah Rukh Khan and Ness Wadia reportedly argued over the number of retentions or Right to Match card that should be allowed for the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025.
The BCCI, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed it had a 'productive dialogue' with team owners over the preparations for IPL 2025 and that the IPL governing council will discuss the talking points from the meeting before taking the final call. The meeting did not yield any 'real outcome' but the BCCI understood what the team owners felt about the pressing issues in the lead-up to the next season.
A mega auction is slated to be held before the start of the IPL 2025 season, but several team owners have spoken against it, highlighting the need to have a stable roaster of players and rewards for scouting and backing young players who go on to become superstars.
The owners debated and discussed various aspects, including the need for a mega auction, retention policy, and the Impact Player rule. According to a top BCCI source who was part of the meeting, Shah Rukh fiercely made the case against mega auctions. At one stage, the KKR owner was also believed to be engaged in a heated argument with Ness Wadia over the number of retentions. Shah Rukh was in favour of major retentions while Wadia is believed to be against too many of them.
Among the team owners or co-owners who attended the meeting were Shah Rukh Khan from Kolkata Knight Riders, Kavya Maran from Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ness Wadia from Punjab Kings, Sanjiv Goenka with his son Shashwat from Lucknow Super Giants, KK Grand and Parth Jindal from Delhi Capitals.
Manoj Badale and Ranjit Barthakur from Rajasthan Royals, Prathamesh Mishra from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kasi Viswanathan and Rupa Gurunath from Chennai Super Kings, Amit Soni from Gujarat Titans while Mumbai Indians' owners attended it online.
