IPL 2025 Auction Retention Rules

IPL 2025 Auction Retention Rules: Right after BCCI confirmed a mega auction for the IPL 2025 many rumours started to float reading the IPL 2025 mega auction rules. Particularly, the implementation of RTMs in the auction has become the most discussed topic in the cricket community.

Though BCCI introduced the RTM in 2014 it was last used in 2018 and since then BCCI has never allowed the teams to use them during the auction.

With much speculation around the IPL 2025 auction retention rules, BCCI finally made some announcements regarding them. Right before heading to the topic, we know you are very curious to know ‘What is RTM in IPL auction’.

The Right to Match or RTM is an option used during the Indian Premier League(IPL) auction. It allows the franchise to retain a player who represented the team in the previous season if they match the highest bid placed by another franchise during the auction.

While many of the IPL fans believed that BCCI might bring back the RTMs in the IPL 2025 auction, the board made a bold move by rejecting it.

IPL 2025 Auction Retention Rules

Following are the complete details of the IPL 2025 retention rules:

• BCCI is set to allow five players retention for the IPL 2025 season instead of four.
• No RTMs for the IPL 2025.
• The salary cap for each team could be set at INR 120 crores while it was INR 100 crores for the last auction.
• A dedicated retention slot is to be allotted for the uncapped players.
• A team is set to be allowed to keep up to five Indian(capped/uncapped) and three foreign players with the total number of retentions not exceeding five.
• It is clearly said that a team cannot keep more than two uncapped players.
• As per the conditions, the team management can either retain four Indian players and one overseas player or three Indian players and two overseas players.
• Each franchise will receive a budget of INR 120 crore for the auction from which a team should spend at least 75 percent (INR 90 Crore) on players. Moreover, franchises can spend 30-40 percent of their budget on the top 5 players.
• BCCI will finalize the auction players list and group them into three different categories: Capped, Uncapped, and Overseas players.
  • Capped – Indian players who represented the country’s senior team in any format at least once.
  • Uncapped – Indian domestic players who are in the first-class circuit but haven’t represented India in any international matches.
  • Overseas – Players who are not from India. This category will contain all capped, uncapped non-Indian players.
• A team can compromise a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players in their squad.
• A team can hold a maximum of eight foreign players with only four being allowed to field at one time during the match.

IPL 2025 Player Retention Rules

BCCI is set to allow a total of five retentions for the IPL 2025 auction and also confirmed no RTMs for the IPL 2025 mega auction. BCCI also explained the salary cap for the retained players based on the team’s decision on the number of players retained.

Following are the salary cap details announced by the BCCI for the last season.

• If a team retains 4 players, Rs 42 crore will be cut from the player purse.
• If a team retains 3 players, Rs 33 crore will be cut from the player purse.
• If a team retains 2 players, Rs 24 crore will be cut from the player purse.
• If a team retains only one player, it will lose Rs 14 crore from its purse value.
• Each uncapped player retained will cost Rs 4 crore each.

If a team retains 4 of its players then the salary cap of the four players will be as follows:

*below mentioned will be the player’s annual salary

If a team retains 3 of its players then the salary cap of the three players will be as follows:

If a team retains 2 of its players then the salary cap of the two players will be as follows:

If a team keeps only one player, then the team has to pay a total of INR 14 crores