8, 5-7 or 0: IPL franchises divided over retention rules for IPL 2025 mega auction as BCCI begin retention process

The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have reportedly requested an increase in the number of player retentions for the next three seasons.

The upcoming IPL auctions will be a mega one which means the franchises will have to release most of the players. For the 2022 mega auction, the eight franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of four players. The teams were allowed to retain up to a maximum of three Indian players, capped or uncapped.

They were also not allowed to retain more than two overseas players. For the last mega auction, the number of retentions was decreased by the BCCI because of the addition of two new teams - Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. For the previous mega auctions, the franchises were allowed to retain five players through a combination of player retention and the use of Right to Match (RTM) cards during the auction.

BCCI begins retention process for IPL 2025 mega auction:

For the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction, the BCCI is yet to announce the retention rule. However, the board has already started the process of finalizing the retention policy, according to a report in Cricbuzz. The report stated that a final decision on the matter will be taken at a meeting of the owners later this month.

Hemang Amin, the BCCI Acting CEO, and IPL in charge, has already consulted the CEOs of the franchises to discuss their views on the retention policy. The board has also sought the franchises' opinion on the possible inclusion of RTM cards, which were not used in the last mega auction.

The news outlet has reported that most franchises have requested between five and seven retentions while one of the franchises has also suggested retaining as many as eight players. At the same time, some franchises have also said that there should be no retentions at all while another franchise requested to have only RTMs and no retentions allowed.

In May this year, veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle had revealed that KKR CEO Venky Mysore wanted no retention but as many as eight RTM cards. Such a step would allow the players to participate in the auction and the franchises will also be able to buy them back.

After talking to the franchises, the BCCI is now finalizing the process and will disclose its final decision during the owners' meeting. Meanwhile, the BCCI is also set to keep the Impact Player rule for the time being even though several big names including India captain Rohit Sharma expressed their reservations over the same.