Six retentions via retention or RTM allowed ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction; Purse increased to INR 120 Crore

The IPL governing council officially announced that franchises will be allowed to retain a total of six players (via retention or RTMs), comprising a maximum of 5 capped players (either Indian or overseas) and an upper limit of 2 uncapped talents ahead of the upcoming mega auction.

While the council has allowed the franchises to pick their combination of retention + RTMs, the IPL 2025 auction purse has also been given a significant bump of 20% to INR 120 Crore for split between auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees.

Notably, the IPL council are debuting the match fees concept in this season, where each playing XI member will receive INR 7.5 lakhs per match, in addition to overall contract amount.

Apart from a list of eight points addressed by the council, the Impact Player rule is also set to stay until 2027, squashing aside rumours of the possibility of it being done away with for IPL 2025.

Below is the full list of all the rules and regulations announced by the IPL GC on September 28, 2024 -

1. The IPL franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option.
2. It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for Retentions and RTMs. The 6 retentions / RTM’s can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian & Overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players.
3. The auction purse for the franchises has been set at INR 120 Crore for IPL 2025. The total salary cap will now consist of auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. Previously in 2024, the total salary cap (auction purse + incremental performance pay) was Rs. 110 Crs which will now be Rs. 146 Crs (2025), Rs. 151 Crs (2026) and Rs. 157 Crs (2027).
4. A match fee has been introduced for the first time in the history of IPL. Each Playing member (Including the Impact Player) will get a match fee of INR 7.5 Lakhs per match. This will be in addition to his contracted amount.
5. Any Overseas Player will have to register for the Big Auction. In case the overseas player doesn't register, then he will be ineligible to register in the following year’s player auction.
6. Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for 2 Seasons.
7. A capped Indian player will become uncapped, if the player has in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only.
8. The Impact Player Regulation will continue for the 2025 to 2027 cycle.