Check out the IPL 2025 retention rules, possible retentions, and RTM strategies for all 10 teams ahead of the mega auction. Get insights into each team's plans!
The stage is set for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, with the Indian Premier League Governing Council, in partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, announcing the much-anticipated retention rules today. The new rules were released on September 28, 2024; they will give the nine franchises a glimpse of how they should approach player retentions ahead of what promises to be a thriller of an auction-most likely to be held in November or December 2024.
Key Retention Rules for IPL 2025
Maximum of 6 Retentions/RTMs: In a franchise, six players are retained. The franchise can use the Right to Match (RTM) card for the highest bidding amount. The RTM card gives the team the chance to match the bid at which the player was asked to be retained. The retentions do come at a cost. There will be a cut of Rs 75 crore from Rs 120 crore added to the purse for an enhanced team purse in case all six slots are used.
A significant offering by the BCCI has been the uncapped player boost, which includes players who have not played any game at international level within the last five calendar years or are not in the BCCI central contract presently and will be considered as uncapped. This is a huge boon for teams like CSK and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who falls in the aforementioned category. The retention cost for the uncapped players is way lesser at Rs 4 crore.
Cost of Retentions: Though not officially disclosed, sources have revealed the cost slabs for retaining players:
- 1st retention: Rs 18 crore
- 2nd retention: Rs 14 crore
- 3rd retention: Rs 11 crore
- 4th retention: Rs 18 crore
- 5th retention: Rs 14 crore
This high cost will likely force teams to be selective in their retentions, with most franchises preferring to use RTM cards rather than blowing their entire budget on retentions.
Capped and Uncapped Players: A maximum number of five capped Indian players along with five overseas can be retained. Two uncapped players are permitted in the mix. This allows the franchisees to maintain the core while still strategizing for the auction.
Franchise Strategies Ahead of the Mega Auction
With these retention rules now in place, all 10 teams are carefully assessing their squads to determine who will stay and who will be released for the auction. Let’s take a look at the possible retention strategies for each franchise:
1. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
- Retained Players: Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, Rajat Patidar, Vyshak Vijaykumar (Uncapped)
- RTM Card Usage: Will Jacks, Yash Dayal
- Strategy: RCB will focus on retaining their talisman Virat Kohli, alongside their promising pace attack in Siraj and Dayal. Retaining an uncapped player like Vyshak helps conserve their budget.
2. Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- Retained Players: Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Uncapped)
- RTM Card Usage: Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande
- Strategy: With Dhoni classified as an uncapped player, CSK saves significant funds. Jadeja and Gaikwad remain the heart of the team, while Dube and Pathirana offer balance with the RTM.
3. Delhi Capitals (DC)
- Retained Players: Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav
- RTM Card Usage: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (Uncapped)
- Strategy: DC will look to retain their core Indian trio while utilizing the RTM card to bring back promising overseas players like Stubbs and Fraser-McGurk.
4. Gujarat Titans (GT)
- Retained Players: Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan
- RTM Card Usage: Mohammed Shami, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia (Uncapped)
- Strategy: GT’s focus will be on maintaining the successful core from their previous campaigns, with Gill and Rashid being essential retentions.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
- Retained Players: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh
- RTM Card Usage: Varun Chakravarthy/Harshit Rana, Shreyas Iyer/Venkatesh Iyer
- Strategy: KKR will retain their Caribbean duo, along with the explosive Rinku Singh. The use of RTM cards will be key in ensuring they keep their star Indian players.
6. Mumbai Indians (MI)
- Retained Players: Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya
- RTM Card Usage: Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Nehal Wadhera (Uncapped)
- Strategy: MI will prioritize retaining their core of Bumrah, SKY, and Pandya, while using RTM for young stars like Tilak Varma and Kishan.
7. Punjab Kings (PBKS)
- Retained Players: Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone
- RTM Card Usage: Shashank Singh (Uncapped), Ashutosh Sharma (Uncapped), Prabhsimran Singh
- Strategy: PBKS will look to retain a mix of Indian and overseas talent, focusing on their uncapped players to manage their purse.
8. Rajasthan Royals (RR)
- Retained Players: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler
- RTM Card Usage: Yuzvendra Chahal/Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma (Uncapped), Riyan Parag
- Strategy: RR’s core of Samson, Jaiswal, and Buttler remains intact, with Chahal likely to return via RTM.
9. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
- Retained Players: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma
- RTM Card Usage: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins
- Strategy: SRH will use RTM to bring back key overseas players like Klaasen and Cummins while focusing on emerging Indian talent.
10. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
- Retained Players: Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul
- RTM Card Usage: Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Yadav
- Strategy: LSG will retain their captain and star wicketkeeper, while the RTM will likely be used for all-rounders like Stoinis.
With the retentions now clear, the IPL 2025 Mega Auction is set to be a high-stakes event, where teams will battle it out for key players to complete their squads. Expect aggressive bidding for top talents, with RTM cards being a vital tool for franchises to regain their released stars.
