IPL auction: Six retentions, right-to-match comes back

Each franchise to have purse of Rs 120 crore; Impact rule to stayBENGALURU: Ahead of the mega auction in Nov, the IPL governing council has decided that the 10 franchises can retain a maximum of six cricketers. Also, the Right to Match (RTM) card, which was done away with before the 2022 mega auction, has been brought back."It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for retentions and RTMs. The six retentions/RTM's can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players," the IPL said in statement announcing the big changes.Interestingly, the IPL GC, which met here on Saturday, has also come up with a rider which is a 'pay more to retain more' formula, wherein the price for the fourth and fifth retentions come at a higher cost. With each team having an increased auction purse of Rs 120 crore each, there will be a reduction of Rs 18 crore, 14 crore and 11 crore respectively for the first three retentions.The subsequent fourth and fifth retentions will see the franchise purse getting lighter by Rs 18 crore and 14 crore. Effectively, five retentions will come at a cost of Rs 75 crore, leaving the franchise with Rs 45 crore to complete the line-up.The price for the uncapped player has been pegged at Rs 4 crore, which further reduces a franchise's purse. Also, for the subsequent seasons the purse has been increased to Rs 151 crore (2026) and Rs 157 crore (2027).In another key decision, the GC has decided to retain the Impact Player rule. The same will continue for the 2025-27 cycle.'Uncapped' Dhoni can be retainedChennai Super Kings can retain their former captain MS Dhoni as an 'uncapped' player because an old rule first introduced in 2008 and scrapped in 2021 has been brought back: Indian players who have been retired from international cricket for a period of at least five years can go into the auction pool as an 'uncapped' player.Dhoni, for example, retired from international cricket in 2020 and can be retained for Rs 4 crore. CSK had shelled out Rs 12 crore to retain him ahead of the 2022 auction.New stringent availability rulesThe GC has laid down rules for players registering for the auction, bringing in some strict regulations. "Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for two seasons," the IPL said.There have been plenty of instances of players pulling out after being picked in the auction, especially England and Australia players, and this rule may prevent such late withdrawals.Landmark match fee introducedIn an important step, players featuring in IPL-2025 are set to receive a match fee of Rs 7.5 lakh per game. This is apart from the auction fee they earn from their respective franchisees, BCCI secretary Jay Shah posted on X. Effectively, if a player features in all league matches, he will get an additional sum of Rs 1.05 crore. "This is a new era for the IPL," Shah posted.