RAPP list expands replacement pool
BCCI released the IPL 2026 RAPP (Replacement Player Pool), spotlighting available names including Steve Smith and Jonny Bairstow as franchises grapple with an injury surge. Teams must now manage replacement approvals, NOCs and fitness clearances under tighter rules. (mykhel.com)
BCCI circulated a Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) listing 1,307 unsold players on Jan 29, 2026, drawn from entrants at the December 16 auction in Abu Dhabi. (cricexec.com (cricexec.com); cricbuzz.com (cricbuzz.com)) Franchise operations now include board-level medical clearances after national boards tightened NOC protocols, with Sri Lanka Cricket making a physical performance test mandatory for players such as Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara and Wanindu Hasaranga ahead of IPL participation (Outlook India reported 20 Mar 2026). (outlookindia.com (outlookindia.com)) IPL playing conditions require replacement signings to come only from the RAPP and cap the replacement’s league fee to no more than the contract value of the player being replaced, while also stipulating that a replacement’s full-season league fee cannot be lower than his auction reserve price. (ipl.com (ipl.com); cricbuzz.com (cricbuzz.com)) Legal friction between leagues has already affected replacement deals: the Pakistan Cricket Board issued a legal notice to Corbin Bosch after he took an IPL replacement contract while tied to a PSL draft pick, underlining cross-board contractual risk for player agents and franchises. (espncricinfo.com (espncricinfo.com); pcb.com.pk (pcb.com.pk)) Scouting and analytics teams face a one-time screening challenge across 1,307 RAPP names and rely on ball-by-ball datasets and commercial feeds to rank candidates — CricViz publishes large-scale match data and commercial data-feeds, and ESPNcricinfo’s Statsguru supplies searchable historical T20 metrics for selector queries. (cricexec.com (cricexec.com); cricviz.com (cricviz.com); stats.espncricinfo.com (stats.espncricinfo.com)) Operational and early-career pathways created by the RAPP process include replacement logistics coordinators and contract administrators to manage NOCs and fitness clearances (aligned with SLC’s new testing policy), junior data-analyst/scout roles building RAPP-filter dashboards from Statsguru/CricViz feeds (feasible shown by public ball-by-ball scrapers on GitHub), and junior player-agent or contract-associate roles focusing on reserve-price compliance and cross-league dispute mitigation as highlighted by the Bosch case and IPL contract rules. (outlookindia.com (outlookindia.com); stats.espncricinfo.com (stats.espncricinfo.com); cricviz.com (cricviz.com); espncricinfo.com (espncricinfo.com); github.com (github.com))
