BCCI Likely to Announce Record-setting Five Retentions and One RTM Card Ahead of IPL 2025: Report

As franchises eagerly await the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 retention rules ahead of the mega-auction, it is being tipped that the upcoming season could see franchises be allowed the record-highest number of retentions in the tournament in its 17-year history.

According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, the 10 teams are likely to be allowed to retain as many as five players from their current squad while also including one right-to-match card (RTM) ahead of the 2025 mega auction.

The RTM card means that when a franchise secures the highest bid for a player, the original franchise in which the player was a part would have a chance to match the bid to reclaim the player.

It is unclear as to how the retentions would be divided in terms of Indian and overseas players along with the retention slabs. But the report also suggests that the purse could come between the 115 to 120 crore INR mark as well.

The IPL Governing Council is expected to come together at the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting today and the confirmation regarding the 2025 season’s retention policy is likely to be approved then.

Another key point to be mentioned was that the IPL was in favour of bringing back the rule which allowed players who retired from international cricket for at least five years to be categorised as uncapped players.

This would allow the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to likely retain the services of the former skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni for yet another season without sacrificing a large portion of their purse to retain the services of the 43-year-old. As per the report, the retention price for an uncapped player was at INR 3 crores in 2017 which was then increased to INR 4 crores in 2021.

Franchises will be awaiting the official announcement regarding the retention rules which would then allow them to reshape their squad and possibly bring in new additions to their side at the upcoming auctions.

Certain franchises will look to retain their core group of players while other sides will hope that the retention policy serves in their favour, allowing them to have a better chance of adding to their squad with quality players ahead of the 2025 season.