IPL's new RTM rule offers the highest bidders one last shot before teams reclaim players at the auction

In a groundbreaking move, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council has unleashed a wave of revolutionary changes to player retention and auction strategies.

As the clock ticks toward the next IPL cycle (2025-2027), the new rules promise to completely change the way franchises manage their rosters, offering more flexibility but at the cost of intense decision-making.

IPL Governing Council unveils game-changing Player Retention and Auction Rules for the next cycle

The headline-grabbing changes made by the IPL GC are the introduction of a revised retention and Right To Match (RTM) system, offering the teams the power to retain up to six players from their existing squads.

Whether it’s a mix of capped international stars or emerging uncapped talents, each team will have to be very careful while balancing their purse, valued at a hefty INR 120 crore.

The math behind these retentions will significantly impact how much teams can splurge at the all-important auction table later this year. Well, if a team decides to hold onto five of its most prized capped players and two uncapped rising stars, then their purse will immediately see a substantial chunk vanish.

With each uncapped player costing INR 4 crores and capped players slotted into different price brackets, the IPL teams will face an uphill battle to build a competitive squad with what’s left of their budget for the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.

On the other hand, if a team chooses to retain six players, they could enter the auction with as little as INR 41 crores to build the rest of their squad. Meanwhile, another team that opts for five retentions could have a larger purse and an ace up their sleeve—the RTM card.

Revised RTM rules for player re-acquisition in IPL auctions

This tempting RTM option gives teams a second chance to reclaim one of their former players during the auction. Meanwhile, in a strategic twist to the IPL auction, the ten franchises now have another way to bring back their players using the RTM (Right to Match) card.

The number of RTMs a team holds depends on the players they’ve directly retained. It's a straightforward equation, as the teams can calculate their RTMs as 6 minus the number of players they have already retained.

So, if a team decides to keep only three players, they’ll have three RTMs at their disposal during the auction. However, there’s a significant change to how the RTM card can be used this time around. Previously, a team could simply match the highest bid at the auction to reacquire their player.

Now, the rules offer a new twist, as the highest bidder will get one last chance to raise their offer before the RTM holder comes into the picture to acquire the player.

For example, if Ravichandran Ashwin goes under the hammer and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) places the highest bid of INR 6 crores, then his current team Rajasthan Royals (RR) can choose to use their RTM.

But before Rajasthan Royals (RR) can reclaim Ashwin, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be allowed to increase their bid one final time. Like, if RCB ups its bid to INR 9 crores, RR will then have the option to re-sign Ashwin by matching that final bid of INR 9 crores. This extra bidding round brings even more drama and excitement to the auction table.