On Saturday (September 28), details of the retention policy for the IPL 2025 mega auction were revealed ahead of the official announcement by the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council. According to Sports Tak, each franchise will be allowed to retain 5 players and will also be given a Right to Match (RTM) provision.
IPL franchises will also receive a purse of Rs 120 crore, which is the highest in the history of the tournament. There will also be no restrictions on how many Indian or foreign players will be retained. Additionally, if a team retains only three players, they will be given three RTM cards for auction.
Out of the purse of INR 120 crore, if a team will retain all 5 players, INR 75 crore will be used. In this, the first hold will be INR 18 crore, while the second hold will be INR 14 crore. The third hold will be INR 11 crore, while the fourth will again be INR 18 crore. The last and fifth retention will be INR 14 crore.
The increase in the monetary price for the fourth and fifth hold is aimed at attracting more players to the auction table. The higher cost for the last two holds is because most teams will avoid it and rely on the RTM Card.
Breakdown of retention slab for IPL 2025
Here is the breakdown of the retention slab for IPL 2025:
First retention: Rs. 18cr
Second retention: Rs. 14cr
Third retention: Rs. 11cr
Fourth retention: Rs. 18cr
Fifth retention: Rs. 14cr
With the retention policy for IPL 2025 allowing 5 retentions and 1 right to match card, this is now the highest number of retentions in the history of the tournament that teams will be allowed. In 2018, franchises were allowed 3 holds along with two RTM cards. But ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, the right to match option was ruled out as teams were allowed to retain 4 players.
With the increase in the IPL 2025 auction amount to Rs 120 crore, it has an increase of Rs 30 crore. In the last mega auction, the BCCI allowed a purse of Rs 90 crore, an increase of Rs 10 crore from 2017. The rising purse could also lead to some record bids this time.
Apart from this, the IPL Governing Council also took an important decision. They introduced match fees for players, which will be borne by the franchises. Each player, both Indian and foreign, will receive a match fee of INR 7.5 lakh in addition to their salary in IPL 2025.
The decision was announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah. He took to his Twitter account and declared, “A cricketer who plays all the league matches in a season will get Rs 1.05 crore in addition to the contracted amount.”
However, the IPL governing council did not mention a date for the IPL 2025 auction. But the event is expected to be held in late November and will likely be held outside India, possibly in Saudi Arabia.