Indian Premier League auction on February 12-13, teams can retain 5 players each

The Indian Premier League 2014 players auction will be held on February 12-13, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The venue is yet to be decided. Teams can retain up to five capped players in advance with the option of retaining a sixth via a joker's card concept. According to the regulations released by the IPL Governing Council on Tuesday, each squad must include no less than 16 and no more than 27 players, of which nine may be foreigners.

Teams can spend up to Rs 60 crore for 2014. The salary cap will increase by five per cent for 2015 and 2016. Players will sign one-year contracts with the option of extending it by one or two additional years. This option must be exercised on or before December 15 every year.  A franchise which retains the maximum of five players, all of whom are capped, will have a balance of Rs 21 crore to pay the remaining 22 players in the squad. The highest a retained players can earn is Rs 12.5 crore. (Read: IPL auctions - New rules defeat the purpose of complete reshuffle)

The IPL is also introducing the concept of a 'joker's card' or technically called, the right-to-match option. It will enable teams to retain a sixth player. This sixth man can be an overseas player or an uncapped Indian player. The 'joker's card' or the 'matching card' system allows a team to buy-back a player which it cannot retain and has been put up for auction. This can happen if the same club matches the bid for the player once the auction is over. This team will have the first right of refusal. If a team has decided not to retain a single player, it can exercise the right-to-match option a maximum three times.

According to the IPL guidelines, teams have to decide by January 10 the players it wishes to retain. For the first time, all financial dealings, will be in Indian rupees. Overseas players can, of course, be paid in the currency of their choice at the prevailing exchange rate.