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Punjab Kings’ co-owner Ness Wadia opened up on the heated argument he had with Bollywood icon and Kolkata Knight Riders’ owner Shah Rukh Khan in IPL meeting. On July 31, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials and Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners met at the BCCI headquarters to discuss modalities and number of retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
During the meeting, Khan and Wadia engaged in a heated debate as the discussion centered around number of player retentions for the upcoming edition of the IPL. While franchises like KKR and SRH reportedly want 7-8 retentions, other franchises including Punjab Kings want lesser number of retentions. The difference of opinions led to an intense exchange between the franchise owners.
Wadia downplayed the incident in a chant with Cricbuzz and emphasised upon the long-standing friendship between him and the Bollywood King. Wadia was quoted as Cricbuzz as saying, “I have known Shah Rukh for more than 25 years. There is no animosity here.” He added, "Everyone gave their views, and they had their opinions. At the end of the day, you have to look at all the stakeholders and do what's best for all. That's most important.”
The meeting also had SRH owner Kavya Maran opining in favour mini auction rather than a mega auction. As per Cricbuzz, her stand in the meeting was, “It takes a lot of time to build a squad and as discussed it also takes quite a bit of time and investment for the younger players to mature. It has taken Abhishek Sharma three years to become consistent with his performances. You would agree that there are many such examples in other teams too."
