IPL 2021 Players Retention Live Updates: The list of foreign players retained includes Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer. All three English players performed well for the Royals in the last tournament. Jofra Archer was the top wicket-taker for the Royals in the 2020 edition with 20 wickets while Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes have also contributed in Rajasthan Royals' important wins in recent past. In addition to the English trio, David Miller and Andrew Tye have also been retained.
Preview: As the auction ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets closer, franchises looking to retain players have been given till January 20 to complete the process. Indian players without a contract but who wish to be a part of the auction will need to fill the player auction agreement and submit it online on February 4 by 5 pm. IPL COO and interim BCCI CEO Hemang Amin sent an email to state associations explaining the process through which an Indian player - whether capped or uncapped - must register to participate in the 2021 edition of the league. The process isn’t applicable for players with a contract or who may get an extension prior to the auction.
"When the above registration is initiated by the state association, it will generate an email to the player with their login details so they can complete the registration process. Once registered, in order to express their interest in playing in the IPL 2021, the player should login to the online registration system," read the mail. "They will be required to complete all the fields and download and complete the IPL 2021 Player Auction Agreement. Once completed, the agreement must be uploaded back to the online registration system and the original sent or delivered to their respective state association. Please note physical signature of player is required on original auction agreement." Amin also made it clear that the BCCI will not be dealing with any player agent or manager and all dealings will be done with the state bodies.
"Please note that, at this stage of the process, BCCI will only deal directly with the state associations and at no time will have any communication with player agents or managers. Any failure by a player to abide by this will (unless BCCI in its sole discretion decides otherwise) result in the player’s name being withdrawn with immediate effect from the IPL 2021 Auction Register and/or IPL 2021 Auction List (as appropriate)," he explained. "An Indian U19 player may only register for the IPL 2021 Player Auction if the player is registered as a player with a State Association and has played in at least one match in either First Class cricket or List A cricket. For the 2021 Season, a U19 player is one who was born on or after 1 April 2002," the mail said. "Any uncapped player who has retired from domestic cricket, can only submit his auction agreement for player registration after getting written approval from BCCI." The IPL auction is expected to be held in the second week of February whereas the tournament will take place in it's usual March-April calendar slot.
