The 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) teams will be reportedly allowed to retain five players as well as the option to use one Right-to-Match (RTM) card during the upcoming mega auction. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the retention rules are set to be finalised ahead of BCCI 93rd Annual General Meet, to be held on September 29, Sunday. However, the report couldn’t clarify how many Indian or overseas players can be part of the retained lot.
“It could not yet be confirmed how many Indian players can be part of the set of retained players or whether there will be a cap on retained overseas players. What is also unknown are the retention slabs,” the report claimed.
However, the report did mention that the overall purse for each team could go up to the Rs 115-120 crore mark, as compared to the salary cap of Rs 90 crore from the mega auction three years back.
“The overall purse could not be confirmed either, but it is understood it will hover around the INR 115-120 crore mark,” the report added.
The date for the mega auction, most likely in the second week of November, too could be announced along with its venue.
It could not be immediately confirmed whether the decisions regarding the retention and auction will be made public after the day’s meeting or after tabling it in Sunday’s AGM for detailed discussion.
IPL 2025 will see a mega auction take place before the tournament, meaning most franchises will have the option to retain a handful of players to their roster. The number of retentions and other variable laws of the auction are set to be finalised on Saturday.
Unlike the 2022 auction in February and the 2023 and 2024 auctions in December, the upcoming IPL mega sale is most likely going to be a two-day affair.
In the last mega auction held in 2022, the IPL teams were permitted to retain up to four players. With the end of the three-year cycle approaching, there are differing opinions among franchises about the optimal number of retained players. While some teams argue for a larger retention cap, possibly up to eight players, others are comfortable with the existing limit of four or five.
(With PTI Inputs)
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