MUMBAI: For the first time in its history, the IPL will witness mid-season transfers introduced by the governing council, allowing players to switch to a new team. There are, however, certain conditions for a player to be eligible for the transfer window.
The transfer window is currently active and started from match 28 till match 42—which will culminate in each of the teams completing half their IPL campaign with seven games. During this period, all the players who haven’t got the chance to play or have played up to two games are eligible.
A team owner who didn’t want to be quoted said, “At least this season, I don’t think anything like this is going to happen. Why would somebody want to loan the players out when you know he is going to be a part of all your important strategic meetings and knows how the team is going to play.”
Teams willing to buy or sell a player will be allowed to negotiate and buy their desired players, just like clubs do in football. Players to be transferred can be uncapped, capped or foreign.
In the previous seasons, teams would struggle to keep up with the demanding fixtures. In 2016, Rising Pune Supergiant lost Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh to injuries leading to a bottom of the table finish.
Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua said, “It will become effective only when you have a lot more players sitting on the bench whether it is international or Indian, capped or uncapped players. It’s a good move in that direction but it needs more wings. There might not be a lot that will happen this year but if more players are added in the future then it will probably work.”
This year, too, many overseas players haven’t played a single game because of injury. Big names such as Pat Cummins (MI), Kagiso Rabada (DD), Mitchell Starc (KKR) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (RCB) have been replaced by Adam Milne, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran and Corey Anderson, respectively. The ICC’s ban on Steven Smith (RR) and David Warner (SRH) made a place for Heinrich Klaasen and Alex Hales in the team. Indian player Kedar Jadhav got injured in the very first game of this season after a winning knock and was replaced by England all-rounder David Willey.
Going by these guidelines, some big names who will be available for a swap in this transfer window are Adam Milne, JP Duminy (both MI), Sandeep Lamichhane (DD), Carlos Brathwaite (SRH), Moeen Ali (RCB) and David Willey (CSK).
Player like Jofra Archer (RR), Faf du Plessis (CSK), Tim Southee (RCB), Alex Hales (SRH), Marcus Stoinis (KXIP), Chris Jordan (SRH) who have played one or two matches and performed well are likely to be retained by their respective franchises.
MI captain Rohit Sharma has publicly supported the transfers. “The mid-season transfer window will give the teams an opportunity to see what they need in the squad and other teams will also be looking at what players they can get. It completely depends on the franchise if a situation comes when we need to get a player or give a player. It is good for the tournament and will add even more value to it,” he told the Financial Express recently.
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