October 31, 5pm IST, is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their lists of retained players to the IPL before the upcoming mega auction for the 2025 season. Here's all you need to know about the IPL player retention.
First up, how many players can an IPL franchise retain?
Six players from their 2024 squad, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals - Indian or overseas - and two can be uncapped Indian players. Six players is the highest number of retentions permitted by the IPL ahead of a mega auction, to allow franchises to keep their core intact ahead.
What does it cost a team to retain players?
Each team has a purse of INR 120 crore - a 20% increase from last year - with which to build their squad for IPL 2025. For the first player retained, a team will lose INR 18 crore from their purse, INR 14 crore for the second player, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore again for the fourth, and INR 14 crore again for the fifth player retained. For every uncapped Indian player retained, a team will lose INR 4 crore from the purse.
So if a team retains five capped internationals, they will lose at least INR 75 crore from their purse of INR 120 crore.
Can the INR 75 crore be split among the five retained players as the franchise wishes?
Yes, the IPL has told franchises they can slice the INR 75-crore retention pot as they want if they are retaining five capped players. If the franchise spends more than INR 75 crore to keep five capped players then the higher amount will be deducted from the purse.
If a team retains only one capped player, they will lose a minimum of INR 18 crore from their purse. For two capped players they will lose at least INR 32 crore (18+14) or the higher amount actually paid; for three capped players it is at least INR 43 crore (18+14+11); and for four capped players it is at least INR 61 crore (18+14+11+18).
However, if a team retains five capped players, the INR 75 crore (18+14+11+18+14) that will be deducted from their purse can be divided among the players in any proportion. So while their first player may be retained at INR 23 crore, they could keep their fifth player at an amount lower than the stipulated deduction of INR 14 crore to stay within the INR 75 crore deduction, as long as the franchise can reach an agreement with the player.
So what's the buzz ahead of the IPL retention deadline?
Well, Sunrisers Hyderabad seem to have stirred the pot with their intention of retaining Heinrich Klaasen for a whopping INR 23 crore. That raises the issue of how a team like Mumbai Indians will slice the pie of INR 75 crore if they want to retain players like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. There are questions over whether captains like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will be retained by their teams or want to enter the auction themselves. And whether some teams would prefer to retain just two or three players and use the right-to-match (RTM) option to buy back others at the mega auction.
Right-to-match (RTM) … what's that?
It's another way for a team to get back their players during the mega auction, instead of retaining them beforehand. A team that retains fewer than six players on October 31 will have some RTM options available to them to buy back players at the mega auction. So if a team retains only three players on Thursday, they will have three RTM options to use at the mega auction. A franchise that retains no players will enter the mega auction with six RTM options. A team that retains six players will have no RTM options at the auction.
Also, if a team has retained five capped players, they can use their remaining RTM option to buy back only an uncapped player. And if a team has already retained two uncapped players, they can't use RTM options on another of their uncapped players at the auction.
How does the RTM option work at the auction?
If a player has been bought by another franchise at the mega auction, the franchise that he was part of in IPL 2024 can step in at the end of the bidding process and buy back their player by matching the highest bid.
But there's a twist this time compared to when the RTM rule was last used at a mega auction in 2018. At the 2025 mega auction, if a team wants to buy back a player using the RTM option, the franchise that made the winning bid will be given another opportunity to raise their bid to whatever amount they wish. In that case, the player's previous team will have to match the increased bid to buy back their player.
Let's take KKR captain Shreyas as a hypothetical example should he enter the auction. If two other teams bid for Shreyas and one of them wins the bid, then KKR can step in and use their RTM option to match the highest bid. But as per the modified RTM rule, franchise that placed the highest bid has the opportunity to raise their bid to any amount, which KKR will then have to match again if they want to buy back Shreyas using the RTM option.
What's this about MS Dhoni being in the uncapped player category this year?
Yes, the IPL has revived a rule it had scrapped in 2021, which allowed capped Indian players who retired or have not played international cricket in the last five years to be categorised as uncapped players. This means Chennai Super Kings can retain Dhoni as an uncapped player at a deduction of INR 4 crore from their purse, unless they pay him more of course.
This rule also applies to players like Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra, Vijay Shankar, Mayank Markande, Karn Sharma and Rishi Dhawan among others, should their franchises wish to retain them as uncapped players.
Can players refuse to be retained by their IPL team?
Yes, if a player doesn't want to remain with a franchise, they can refuse a retention offer and enter the mega auction. Also, there are no player trades allowed between the retention deadline of October 31 and the start of 2025 season.
When is the IPL 2025 mega auction?
There is no confirmed date yet but it likely to be in last week of November. Mega auctions usually take place over two days.