Prior to the massive auctions for the 2025 Indian Premier League, (IPL) the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the revised retention policy. The wealthiest cricket board modified the retention guidelines from four players to six players with a twist, in accordance with the teams’ stated wishes.
The sixth player may be uncapped in addition to the five capped players cap under the new regulation, but they must not have represented India in an international match or had a centrally contracted player status during the five years before to the auction. In addition, the team will have the advantage of having one additional domestic player competing in the retention price bracket and the ability to deploy an uncapped player.
1. What is the IPL 2025 retention policy?
Every squad is allowed to keep a maximum of six players under the new regulation. Additionally, the new rule has given the teams greater leeway by eliminating the cap on the number of international players that must be retained; a maximum of five capped players and a maximum of two uncapped players are permitted.
2. How does retention affect the team’s auction purse?
A franchise will lose 75 crore of its 120 crore salary to the five players who have been retained alone as a result of the development. The initial three players to be kept have price slabs of 18 crore, 14 crore, and 11 crore prior to the blockbuster auctions. The fourth and fifth retentions have set prices of 18 crore and 14 crore, respectively. A club will need to pay 4 crore per uncapped player if they want to keep more than five capped players.
3. Will retention limit star players in the auction pool?
With some big names out of their competition, the new retention restrictions will undoubtedly provide fresh talent with plenty of exposure. As other spinners like Mayank Markande and Ravi Bishnoi are more likely to stay on their respective teams thanks to the clear retention options, players like Mayank Dagar can climb the auction table ladder.
4. Does retention impact team balance and auction strategy?
The teams expressed concerns since their players had to be cut with restrictions due to the outdated retention regulation that caused a talent drain. The new policy gives in to that kind of thinking.
5. What is RTM and how will impact IPL franchises?
The team may choose to employ the Right To Match, or RTM, option if their released player is at the auction table and reaches a final bid that makes it possible for them to bring him back into the fold. When there are two or more possibilities for a specific department and teams are certain that their player won’t bring in a higher offer at the table, they could adopt this tactic.
Two RTMs may be used by a team that has four players left. It does not have the option to use RTM if it wants to keep six players. Less than the maximum six players allowed by the retention policy will allow the remaining players to be RTM options for their respective clubs.
6. What is the meaning of ‘uncapped players’ for IPL 2025 Auction?
As previously said, an uncapped player is defined as a player who has not been in any international matches for India’s playing XI in the five years prior to the 2025 season, or who has not held a BCCI central contract in the five years prior to the current one.
7. How does retention shape the auction strategy?
Each side will bring their own starting eleven into the game. Fans may not view the copy of Mitchell Starc’s auction record price. Teams must have a minimum of 18 players on their roster in order to enter half-full. RTMs might be quite important because every team has half of its playing XI available to teams in need of a star player.
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