Hardik Pandya’s trade to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans shook the IPL landscape ahead of the 2024 mini-auction. In an all-cash deal, Mumbai traded Pandya from Gujarat for INR 15 crore, making it one of the most expensive trades in IPL history.
Though it wasn’t the first instance of player trading in the IPL, it opened the possibility of seeing such deals more often in the future.
Hence, one needs to be aware of the basic IPL player trading window rules. Here we’ll understand how player trade takes place in the IPL, along with its rules.
What is a player trade in the IPL?
An IPL player trade means a player moves from the franchise that signed him in the previous auction to another franchise. The franchises can indulge in an all-cash deal or player swap.
However, the trades can only take place in the designated player trading window.
What is the player trading window?
The IPL rules state that all legitimate trades must take place within the player trading window.
The trading window opens a month later, after an IPL season concludes, and runs until 7 days before the auction. Once the auction is over, the window opens again the next day and concludes a month before the next IPL season starts.
What is an all-cash deal?
Let’s understand this with Hardik Pandya’s trade, which was an all-cash deal.
Mumbai Indians traded Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans, and in return, Mumbai paid INR 15 crore to Gujarat, the amount at which Pandya was signed by Gujarat.
What is a player swap?
A player swap means the exchange of 2 players between franchises. A player swap can take place irrespective of the price tags of both players.
For instance, Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants swapped Devdutt Padikkal and Avesh Khan ahead of the 2024 IPL season. The Royals had bought Padikkal for INR 7.5 crore, while the Super Giants had bought Avesh for INR 10 crore.
When the trade happened, Padikkal moved to Lucknow, while Avesh moved to Rajasthan. But Rajasthan had to pay INR 2.5 crore to Lucknow as the difference between Padikkal and Avesh.
Now that you understand the basics, let’s see how the player trade happens.
Also Read | How Does the IPL Auction Work? – Explained
How does player trade work in the IPL?
During the designated player trading window, franchises can notify the BCCI about the player they want to trade from another franchise. The BCCI then forwards the notification to the concerned franchise.
The concerned franchise must revert within 48 hours of the notification whether they are interested in trading the player. If yes, then the player needs to give his consent for the trade to take place.
The player and his franchise need to sign a consent form provided by the BCCI, allowing further discussions between the franchises. Once franchises decide on the nature of the deal, the player trade can take place with the governing body’s mandate.
While the trade is taking place, the selling franchise and the player can also negotiate the transfer fee.
What is the transfer fee?
The transfer fee is an undisclosed amount a buying franchise pays to the selling franchise when trading a player. This amount is paid on top of the player’s price but doesn’t come under the franchise’s salary cap.
Moreover, the player being traded also stands a chance to get up to 50 percent of the transfer fee from the selling franchise if both parties reach any such agreement.
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