The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), recently announced the new retention guidelines for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) auction. While the total number of retentions increased to six players per team, there were also further changes to the Right to Match (RTM) process.

A Cricbuzz report mentions that franchises are now worried about the extra advantage given to the highest bidder in the RTM process. It further mentions that some franchises have already formally written to the BCCI, while others have entered into talks with its officials.

The new rule makes provision for the highest bidder to have one last chance to increase their bid before the team holding the RTM card can use their right. The amount of the increased bid can be of any value, which the team with the RTM must match.

“The highest bidder will have one last chance to increase his bid for a player before the team holding the RTM card can exercise its right,” says the new rule distributed by the BCCI.

The new RTM standard may be counterproductive

Franchises say the purpose of RTM is to evaluate a player’s market value, but the new rule forces them to match potentially random offers.

This rule could go against the BCCI’s main objective of attracting top players to the IPL 2025 auction. By setting retention fees of Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore for players ranked 4 and 5, the BCCI may be discouraging franchises from opting for retention.

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Critics argue that this rule could hamper the BCCI’s efforts to attract star players to the auction. The updated RTM system could lead franchises to avoid using the RTM option and focus more on withholding.

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