The IPL governing council BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recently released details of certain changes that will go down in the 2025 season. The major update is that all the ten franchises the league can now retain up to six players, and the Right-to-Match or RTM card will be back. The amount of money in the auction purse has been raised, and the Impact Player rule remains in force for the years till 2027. Let’s have a look at this Cricator news where we will be discussing each new rule of IPL 2025 in detail.
Teams Can Retain Up to Six Players
In the upcoming 2025 season, the franchises are allowed to retain a maximum of six players under the retention and RTM rules. The retentions can include up to five capped players, out of which maximum three can be Indian and a maximum of two uncapped Indian players. This new structure affords franchises the flexibility of constructing a strong team.
The retention will affect the auction purse in one way or another. For example, maintaining five capped players will set a franchise INR 75 crore out of the total auction pool of INR 120 crore, and INR 45 crore will be available for the auction. Retention costs will be the same for both the capped and uncapped players as was in the mega auction of the season 2021.
Auction Purse Increased To INR 120 Crore
The auction purse has been increased by INR 20 crore and now it is up to INR 120 crore (around $14.3 million). This increase is expected to result in more serious bidding during the auction. The total cap, including auction purse, and performance pay will be risen in the successive years. It will increase to INR 146 crore in 2025, INR 151 crore in 2026, and INR 157 crore in 2027.
RTM Card Returns To IPL
The Right-to-Match (RTM) option is back for the 2025 mega auction. This option helps the franchises to counter the highest bid made by an opposing franchise team for a particular player. But there is a small provision that needs to be imposed on it. The highest bid made by the team holding the RTM can then choose to retain the player by using the RTM or letting the player go. The last bidder will then be given an opportunity to counter before the RTM card is used.
Impact Player Rule To Stay Till 2027
The Impact Player rule that enables a team to replace one first-XI player with a specialist batter or bowler will be in force until 2027. The rule has helped teams to get more points and has made the games more exciting, says the IPL. Some of the concerns raised by the players and teams were mostly overshadowed by the majority of franchise owners who supported its retention.
New Rules On Exchange Of Injured Players and Borrowed Players
Earlier, franchises were allowed to look for replacements for injured players only before their seventh match. This has now been taken forward to the 12th match of the league phase only. The player loan has also returned meaning teams can loan players during the season. But this rule has never been applied in the IPL till now.
Uncapped Status Of Indian Retired Players
The IPL has brought back a rule from 2008 which meant that Indian players who have retired from international cricket, and have been out of the game for five years or more, would be considered as an uncapped player. This change is only for Indian players and can influence the plan of the teams to select the experienced players at a cheaper price.
MS Dhoni’s Retention As An Uncapped Player
When this rule was changed it meant Chennai Super Kings could still retain MS Dhoni as an uncapped player for INR 4 crore. Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2019, which made him qualify for the new rule. If CSK decides to retain him under this status, it will make a lot of sense for the team and will allow them to free up a lot of purse in the auction.
These changes will make the game even more interesting and tactical in the 2025 season. That is why the new retention rules and RTM card return will introduce new dynamics to the teams’ strategies. There is much to look forward to in the auction and in the upcoming IPL season as well.
