New Delhi, Nov. 21 -- The Indian Premier League (IPL) laid out a level playing field through player auctions from the very outset in 2008. Every team has a fixed purse, ensuring that the richest franchises cannot dominate the league simply by buying the best players. Rather, it rewards the smartest franchises who deploy their purses wisely.

The purse is Rs.120 crore for each of the 10 teams to be formed in the triennial mega auction on 24-25 November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Each franchise has been allowed to retain a maximum of six players, with their purses debited accordingly before the auction. Now we await the unfolding of their auction strategies.

Jasprit Bumrah is the only specialist bowler among the five players retained by the ...