In a groundbreaking move, the Indian Premier League Governing Council has unleashed a wave of revolutionary changes to player retention and auction strategies.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced a significant change to the Right to Match (RTM) option ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, aiming to make player bidding and team retention dynamics even more interesting.
Previously, the RTM system allowed a team to re-acquire a player they had released by matching the highest bid placed for that player during the auction. However, the IPL 2025 auction will see an important modification to this process. Now, the highest bidder for a player will get one final opportunity to raise their bid before the franchise holding the RTM card can reclaim their player, should they choose to exercise the option. This new rule increases the competitive tension between franchises during the auction.
Here’s how the updated RTM rule will work:
As reported by Cricbuzz, If a team places the highest bid for a player, the franchise holding the RTM for that player will first be asked whether they want to reclaim the player at that price. If they opt to use their RTM, the original highest bidder will then be given a chance to increase their bid further. If the new bid is higher, the RTM-holding team will need to decide whether to match this increased price to re-sign their player.
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For instance, consider Ravichandran Ashwin being auctioned. If Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) places the highest bid of INR 6 crores, Ashwin’s previous team, Rajasthan Royals (RR), will have the option to use their RTM to reclaim him. However, under the new rule, RCB would then be allowed to increase their bid, say to INR 9 crores. RR would then need to decide whether to use their RTM at this higher amount to secure Ashwin.
This change is expected to increase bidding wars, particularly for high-value players, as it forces RTM-holding teams to be more decisive and potentially pay a premium if another team aggressively bids for their released players.
New Retention Rules Allow 6 Retentions/RTMs
Additionally, the number of RTMs available to a team will be determined by the number of direct player retentions made ahead of the auction.
Teams are allowed a total of six retention-related moves, with each direct retention reducing the available RTM cards. For example, if a team retains three players, they will have three RTMs at their disposal during the auction.
A maximum of five of those retentions can be capped, including Indian and overseas players, while a maximum of two can be uncapped players.
This new RTM process promises to make the 2025 IPL auction a more strategic and unpredictable affair as teams attempt to outwit each other in the battle for top talent.
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