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On Saturday, September 28, the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council announced the player retention rules for the 2025 season before the auction goes down. All the10 IPL franchises, boasting INR 120 Cr purse at their disposal, will get the opportunity to retain a maximum of six players either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) card in a variety of different ways, which will include a maximum of five capped players (Indian & Overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped players, and at same time, one uncapped player must be retained if their willing to exhaust all their retention options.
Notably, one of the most complex parts of the IPL 2025 auction will be the returning RTM card rule, which can be used by a franchise to buy back their player, but its implementation is expected to be less rewarding than before. When the RTM was last used in 2017 before it was discontinued ahead of 2022, a franchise had to just show it to buy back their player in the auction after one of their competitors had managed to register the highest bid to potentially sign him.
RTM card won't be straightforward to use like in previous IPL auctions
But now, during the IPL 2025 auction, if a franchise shows the RTM card following the conclusion of a bidding war on their player, then the winner of the bid will get one more chance to increase the bid of that said player. If this scenario plays out, then the franchise who wanted to buy back their player, will have the option to either withdraw or match the improved bid, to open the door for their player to return.
The RTM card rule was mentioned in detail in the announcement for IPL 2025 player retention, and it read, “The highest bidder will be given one final opportunity to raise their bid for a player before the team holding the RTM card can exercise their right. For example, if Team 1 holds the RTM for Player X and Team 2 has placed the highest bid of Rs. 6 Cr, then Team 1 will be first asked if they will exercise RTM if Team 1 agrees, then Team 2 will have the chance to increase their bid. If Team 2 raises their bid to Rs. 9 Cr, then Team 1 can use the RTM and acquire Player X for Rs. 9 Cr. If Team 2 chooses not to raise the bid and keeps it at Rs. 6 Cr, Team 1 can use the RTM and get Player X for Rs. 6 Cr.”
The practical example of RTM card rule potentially playing out in the IPL 2025 auction: If Riyan Parag is in the auction, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru managed to place the highest bid of INR 9 Cr on him, then Rajasthan Royals his current franchise will get the chance to use the RTM card if they wish to do so. If Rajasthan Royals agree, then Royal Challengers Bengaluru will have the option to increase their final bid once more, taking it to INR 12 Cr. Then, it will be up to Rajasthan Royals on whether they use their RTM card to re-sign Riyan Parag, or let him join Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
