IPL Governing Council Finalizes Player Retention Rules Ahead of 2025 Auction

Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has introduced new player retention policies ahead of the 2025 player auction, allowing each of the 10 franchisees to retain up to six cricketers, with no restrictions on nationality and including one uncapped player. The IPL Governing Council, which met on Saturday, also reintroduced the Right to Match (RTM) card option.

A significant change in this year’s retention process is the “pay more to retain more” policy, marking a departure from previous practices. According to Jay Shah, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), teams have the option to retain up to six players through either direct retention or RTM. These retentions can include a maximum of five capped players, both Indian and overseas, and up to two uncapped players.

While the official statement did not disclose the financial details of retentions, insiders revealed that the first three retentions would reduce a team’s auction purse, starting at ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore, and ₹11 crore, respectively. However, retaining additional players beyond the third will result in higher deductions—₹18 crore for the fourth player and ₹14 crore for the fifth—leaving teams with a significantly reduced budget of ₹45 crore for the auction if they choose to retain five players.

Additionally, teams can retain one uncapped player, including those who have not played international cricket in the last five years, for a reduction of ₹4 crore. This rule could potentially allow Chennai Super Kings to retain veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni as an uncapped player.

To prevent overseas players from opting in and out of the league at will, the IPL has imposed new restrictions. Overseas players must now register for the Big Auction to be eligible for the upcoming season. Failure to do so will render them ineligible for the following year’s auction. Players who make themselves unavailable after being selected in the auction will face a two-season ban.

In another development, the Governing Council announced a match fee of ₹7.5 lakh for each of the 12 players in the league stage, which will be in addition to their contract fees.

The revised retention rules, alongside these new measures, are expected to add a fresh dynamic to the highly anticipated 2025 IPL auction.