EXPLAINED: IPL’s ‘Uncapped Player’ rule that could allow CSK to retain Dhoni for Rs 4 Crore

Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, scheduled for late November, the BCCI introduced a significant change to the uncapped players’ rule, impacting player retentions ahead of the event.

Traditionally, uncapped players have been defined as any Indian or overseas players who have yet to appear for their national team in any format. However, the governing council has tweaked this rule, now allowing retired or out-of-favour Indian cricketers to fall under the uncapped category.

Under the new guidelines, an Indian player will be considered uncapped if they have not participated in any international match or held a BCCI central contract within the last five years. This adjustment has presented a strategic opportunity for teams, notably the five-time champion Chennai Super Kings. The franchise can now retain former captain and face of the franchise, M.S. Dhoni, as an uncapped player, for only Rs 4 crore.

Dhoni last played for India at the 2019 ODI World Cup, and announced his retirement in August 2020; he does not play any cricket apart from the IPL.

Other players who will qualify under this new rule include Rajasthan Royals’ Sandeep Sharma, Gujarat Titans’ Vijay Shankar and Mohit Sharma, and Mumbai Indians’ Piyush Chawla.

It’s worth noting that this rule isn’t entirely new; it has existed since the IPL’s inception in 2008 until it was removed in 2021, although no team ever utilised it during that time. In the upcoming mega auction, teams can retain a maximum of two uncapped players, and if a franchise intends to fill all six retention slots, at least one must be an uncapped player.