Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja are set to swap franchises |courtesy – BCCI/IPL
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- IPL trades are allowed in non-mega-auction years
- Teams have to keep traded players in their salary cap
- IPL will see its biggest-ever player swap
Two years after the extraordinary deal that saw Hardik Pandya join the Mumbai Indians, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to see a stunning player swap deal, which is the most high-profile as well as expensive in history as Sanju Samson is set to move to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) while Ravindra Jadeja is set to join Rajasthan Royals (RR) ending both player’s long-term association with their franchise.
Several reports have also stated that a third could be involved with Sam Curran emerging as the top contender to make the move from the Super Kings to the Royal as things stand. A confirmation is still awaited, but it looks likely that the deal will go through.
IPL Trade And Players Swap Rules Explained
For those unversed, a player trade or swap can only take place once the player has agreed to the move, and a franchise cannot go ahead with it without the cricketer giving his written clearance to the governing council that he wants to move.
Moreover, the player will earn the same salary that he was earning at his previous franchise. For example, Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja were retained for Rs. 18 crore by RR and CSK last year, and they will continue to earn the same after the move to their new franchise.
Morever, any team a player signs with has to fit in their salary cap. Like two years to accommodate Hardik Pandya’s signing for his salary of Rs. 15 crore, MI had to release players worth the same or more money, which led to Cameron Green’s move to RCB.
The teams will also lose that amount of money from their purse at the 2026 auction.
On the other hand, a team that sends it player to another team will gain his salary in their purse. Ahead of IPL 2024, GT were boosted with an additional Rs. 15 crore at the auction after Hardik left.
However, in the Samson-Jadeja case, with both players earning Rs. 18 crore each, the two teams face an easy calculation. However, if Curran moves to RR, CSK will gain Rs. 2.4 crore in their purse, while RR will have to free up that amount of money.
It is worth noting that trades are only allowed before mini auctions as during mega auction years, players have to renew contracts of their players at a new salary, which happens either through retention or on the auction table.