IPL 2025 Auction

IPL 2025 Mega Auction: All You Need To Know In A Q&A Format

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Mega Auction just around the corner, franchises are finalizing player retention and fans are eagerly waiting for updates on team compositions. So, here’s a comprehensive Q&A on everything you want to know before the big day.

Q1: How many players can each IPL team retain before the mega auction?

As many as six players can be retained by each team from their IPL 2024 roster. Those can include a maximum of five capped internationals and two uncapped Indian players. This six-player retention limit helps retain the core for teams before the auction.

Q2: What is the cost of player retention for teams?

Every IPL franchise has a budget of INR 120 crore for building their squads for the 2025 season, up 20% from last year. Here is the list:

First retained player: INR 18 crore
Second retained player: INR 14 crore
Third retained player: INR 11 crore
Fourth retained player: INR 18 crore
Fifth retained player: INR 14 crore
Every uncapped Indian player: INR 4 crore

If a team continues to retain five capped players then they will lose at least INR 75 crores from their purse.

Q3: Are the five capped players to be decided or split by the team within the retention amount?

Yes. The amount of INR 75 crore that is required to retain five capped players can be split in any proportion, but the total amount cannot exceed INR 75 crore. So, if a franchise wants to retain its star player at INR 23 crore, it could retain a fifth player at a lower amount to balance the budget.

Q4: What’s the buzz around player retention and the challenges teams face?

Sunrisers Hyderabad has only fueled the controversy with reports that it plans to retain Heinrich Klaasen for INR 23 crore. In this case, the other teams like Mumbai Indians who are planning to retain the marquee players Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, would be the ones having to make tricky decisions regarding fair distribution of their retention purse. Besides, there is talk that the players such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer may also choose to go for the auction rather than retention.

Q5: What is the Right-to-Match (RTM) option and how does it work?

The RTM option allows teams to bid back for players during the auction if they did not retain them earlier. Here’s how it works.

A team that retains less than six players on October 31 can use RTM options in the mega auction. If they retain three players, for instance, they are eligible to use three RTM options. In the IPL 2025 auction, if the former player of a team is sold by another franchise, the selling team has an option to match the highest and buy back the player

However, this year, with a new twist, should a team exercise an RTM, the highest bidding franchise can raise their original bid again. The exercising team must then match this new, higher bid so that they can secure the player.

Q6. How does the RTM rule affect uncapped players?

If an IPL franchise has retained five capped players, they can only use their RTM option to buy back an uncapped player. If two uncapped players are already retained, teams can’t use RTM on an additional uncapped player during the auction.

Q7: Why is MS Dhoni now considered an uncapped player and how does that impact Chennai Super Kings?

The IPL has brought back a regulation through which players who retired, or have not played cricket at the international level within the last five years of the draft, would go under the uncapped segment. This ensures the Chennai Super Kings can keep MS Dhoni as an uncapped player and forfeit just INR 4 crores from their purse while the rest can be more. 

Q8: Can a player decline retention by his own IPL franchise?

Yes. A player can decline a retention offered by his very own IPL franchise and go under the hammer. Also, no trades of players allowed between the date of the retention on October 31, 2024 and the start of IPL 2025 season.

Q9: When is the IPL 2025 Mega Auction?

Although the official date for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction is yet not declared, it is supposed to happen in the last week of November. The IPL auction generally happens over two days.

The retention deadline draws near on October 31st, 2024 and teams build up on their strategies ahead of what is to be an exciting IPL 2025 Mega Auction.

The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye

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