The conditions for the auction of the upcoming 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) were established following the IPL Governing Council meeting on Saturday, September 28. A media release outlining eight player regulations was promptly published on the IPL website.
The first of these eight points in the Media Advisory states: “The IPL franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option.”
This indicates that IPL teams can retain a maximum of six players, with five being directly chosen and one through the RTM (Right to Match) card. A Right to Match (RTM) card is a tool provided to franchises during the auction, allowing them to use an additional retention spot to acquire a player by matching the bid of another team. This option was last utilized in the player auction before the 2018 IPL.
To illustrate this, consider the case of Krunal Pandya. Released by the Mumbai Indians in 2018, he entered the auction pool as an uncapped player with a base price of ₹40 lakhs. A bidding war broke out among the Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, resulting in RCB acquiring him for ₹8.8 crores.
The Mumbai Indians were allowed to retain the player and decided to do so, raising the RTM card to inform the auctioneer. With sufficient funds remaining, they matched RCB’s bid and successfully brought the player back. This year marks the return of RTMs, which were not utilized in the 2022 IPL Mega Auction.
Overseas players will face penalties if they do not participate in the IPL after being acquired in the auction
The eight-point press release outlines strict measures to prevent overseas players from abandoning their commitments after being acquired at the auction. If they fail to participate, they will face a two-year ban and will be ineligible for subsequent auctions.
The auction dates have not yet been finalized, but a tentative timeframe from late November to the second week of December has been proposed. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Muscat are the preferred locations for auction hosting.
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