New Delhi: As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction approaches, the speculations continue to intensify over the rules and the number of retentions that will be allowed for all ten franchises. The mega auction is expected to take place in November this year. However, the BCCI is yet to officially confirm the rules and regulations for the showpiece event.
As per a report in Indian Express, the BCCI is likely to allow a maximum of five retentions for each team in the IPL 2025 mega auction. The report also claims that there will be no Right To Match (RTM) option available. BCCI had allowed each team to retain 4 players – a maximum of three Indians, two overseas players, and two uncapped players at the last mega auction ahead of IPL 2022.
The increase in the number of retentions this time can be down to requests for the same from several franchises during a meeting between the owners and the BCCI officials a couple of months ago. In the meeting, several top teams, including IPL 2024 winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had urged the board to allow 7-8 retentions in order to maintain continuity.
Many franchises argued they should be allowed to retain their core to make the maximum of their investments in players while also ensuring their brand value remains intact. Some were also in favour of postponing the mega auction from 2024 to 2025 arguing that mega auctions should only happen once in a period of 5-6 years.
Currently, a mega auction happens once every four years in the IPL. As per the report, BCCI has weighed in on the request from the majority of franchises and has thus decided to increase the number of retentions from 4 to 5. However, like in the IPL 2022 mega auction, there will be no RTM option for the franchises this year as well.
Limit on retentions in IPL 2025 mega auction?
While the number of retentions is likely to be 5, there is currently no clarity yet on how many Indian players and how many overseas players will each franchise be allowed to retain ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. In the IPL 2022 mega auction, a franchise was allowed to retain a maximum of three Indians, two overseas and two uncapped players in their total 4 retentions.
However, the rule might change this year. It will also be interesting to see if the BCCI brings back the uncapped rules for the players, who have retired from international cricket for 5 years or more. The rule was scrapped in 2021 but Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had requested the broad to reinstate it to retain the legendary MS Dhoni as an uncapped player.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly set to allow a maximum of fove retentions at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. There will be no RTM option for all ten teams. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
