Will IPL 2025 retention policy affect the upcoming auction?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rolled out the new retention policy ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions. The richest cricket board adhered to the reported requests made by the franchises and changed the retention rules from four players to six players with a twist.

Apart from the five capped players cap in the new rule, the sixth player could be uncapped but should not have played an international game for India, or been a centrally contracted player in five years preceding the auction. This also provides the team with a chance to field an uncapped player in the retention price bracket, with the added advantage of having one more domestic player in the fray.

What is the IPL 2025 retention policy?

According to the new policy, every team can retain a maximum of six players. Moreover, the new rule has provided the franchises with more flexibility by removing the cap on minimum foreign players to be retained and a maximum of five capped and up to two uncapped players are allowed.

How does retention affect the team’s auction purse?

The development means that a franchise will lose 75 crore off its 120 crore purse to the five retained players alone. The price slabs of the first three retained players ahead of the mega auctions are 18 crore, 14 crore, and 11 crore. The pricing for the fourth and fifth retention is locked at 18 crore and 14 crore respectively. If a team wishes to retain an uncapped player other than five capped retentions, they will have to shed 4 crore per player.

Will retention limit star players in the auction pool?

The new retention rules will surely give young talent ample exposure with some big names out of their competition. The likes of Mayank Dagar can move up the ladder in the auction table as other spinners such as Ravi Bishnoi, and Mayank Markande getting more likely remain in their respective teams through the defined retention options.

Also Check: IPL 2025 Auction Retention Rules Explained

Does retention impact team balance and auction strategy?

There were qualms shown by the franchises as the old retention policy led to the talent drain and the players they nourished had to be ousted with constraints in rules. The new policy caters to that school of thought.

What is RTM and how will impact IPL franchises?

The RTM, or the Right To Match, option could be used by the team when their released player is at the auction table and achieves a certain final bid which is feasible for them to pull him back in the team. This could be used when there are two or more options for a particular department and teams are sure that their player will not fetch a higher bid at the table.

If a team retains four players, they can use two RTMs. If it wishes to retain six players, then they do not have the option of using RTM. With the maximum cap of six players in retention policy, anything less than six will allow the remainder as RTM options for the respective teams.

Also Read: Retention rule change leaves door open for 'uncapped' Dhoni

How are “uncapped players” defined under the new regulations for IPL 2025?

As discussed above, an uncapped player will mean someone who has not featured in India's Playing XI in any of the international matches five years preceding the 2025 season, or has not held a BCCI central contract in the last five years preceding the current one.

How does retention shape the auction strategy?

The teams will enter with their half of the playing XI settled. Fans might not see the replica of Mitchell Starc’s record price auction. The teams will enter half-full, with the criteria to meet the minimum mark of 18 players in the team. RTMs might play a huge role as the other half of the playing XI of every team is open to teams who need a star player in their kitty.