IPL 2025: Major retention policy details for mega auction revealed before BCCI's announcement

On Saturday (28th September) the retention policy details for the IPL 2025 mega auction were revealed before the official announcement by the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council. As per Sports Tak, each franchise will be allowed to retain 5 players and will be given one Right To Match (RTM) provision as well.

The IPL franchises will also be given a purse of INR 120 crores, which is the highest in the tournament's history. There also will be no restriction on how many Indian or foreign players to be retained. Also, if a team retains just three players, they will be given three RTM cards for the auction.

From the purse of INR 120 crore, if a team will be retaining all 5 players, INR 75 crore will be utilized. In this, 1st retention will be INR 18 crore while the second will be 14 crore. The third retention will be of INR 11 crore while 4th will be again of 18 crore. The last and the 5th retention will of INR 14 crore.

The increase in the price money for the 4th and 5th retention is to bring more players to the auction table. The increased cost for the last two retentions is because most of the teams will be avoiding it and will be dependent on the RTM Card.

Breakdown of the retention slab for IPL 2025

Here's the breakdown of the retention slab for IPL 2025:

1st retention: Rs. 18cr

2nd retention: Rs. 14cr

3rd retention: Rs. 11cr

4th retention: Rs. 18cr

5th retention: Rs. 14cr

With the retention policy for IPL 2025, allowing 5 retentions and 1 right-to-match card, it is now the highest number of retentions in the history of the tournament that teams will be allowed. In 2018, franchises were allowed 3 retentions along with two RTM cards. But ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, the right-to-match option was discarded as teams were allowed to retain 4 players.

With the IPL 2025 auction purse getting increased to Rs 120 crore, it has a hike of INR 30 crore. In the last mega auction, BCCI allowed a purse of INR 90 crore, an increase of 10 crore from 2017. The increase in purse might also see some record-breaking bids this time around.

Apart from this, the IPL Governing Council also took a massive decision. They introduced the match fees for the players, which will be paid by the franchises. Each player, both Indian and overseas, will be getting an INR 7.5 lakh match fee apart from his salary in the IPL 2025.

The decision was announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah. He took to his Twitter account and stated: "A cricketer playing all league matches in a season will get Rs. 1.05 crores in addition to his contracted amount."

The IPL governing council, however, didn't mention a date for the IPL 2025 auction. But it is expected that the event will be held in late November, likely taking place outside India, possibly in Saudi Arabia.