More retentions and return of the RTM

Each franchise can now retain up to six players (this used to be four). They can retain all six before the auction or use the right to match (RTM) card at the auction – an option that was not available for the 2022-2024 cycle – but the total cannot exceed six.

These can include at most five capped (Indian and overseas) and at most two uncapped players. There is no restriction on the number of overseas cricketers that can be retained.

Repercussions for overseas cricketers

Overseas cricketers will have to register for the mega auction (formally called the Big Auction), ahead of IPL 2025. If they do not, they will be ineligible to register for the following year’s auction, ahead of IPL 2026.

Thus, if they miss IPL 2025, they will be automatically barred from IPL 2026 auction. This is presumably to counter them from using the “mini auction loophole”.

Additionally, if a cricketer gets picked at the auction but opts out before the start of the season, they will get banned from participating in the tournament and the auction for two seasons.

Thus, if a cricketer gets picked for IPL 2025 and opts out of the edition before the season, they will be barred from IPL 2026 and 2027 as well. Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO Kavya Maran had gone on record asking for these bans.

Impact Player continues

There has been some speculation around IPL’s Impact Player. It has received criticism from some quarters, including Rohit Sharma, who was the Indian T20I captain at that point.

However, the IPL will continue with the Impact Player for at least the 2025-2027 cycle.

Capped players can become uncapped

According to the new regulations, “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 ... or does not have a central contract with BCCI.”

Cricketers who have not played for India since 2019 or have not had a central contract (one can assume that the use of the tense in “does not” is a grammatical error) since the same year now qualify as “uncapped”. They will qualify for the corresponding brackets or salary categories. All eyes will be on MS Dhoni – though there is no confirmed news of him turning out for India again.

More pay for the cricketers

Each franchise will have an auction cap of INR 120 crore (£10.72 million*) at the IPL 2025 auction.

Until 2024, the total salary cap, the sum of the auction purse and the incremental performance pay, used to be INR 110 crore (£9.83 million*). This will increase to INR 146 crore (£13.04 million*) in 2025, INR 151 crore (£13.49 million*) in 2026, and INR 157 crore (£14.03 million*) in 2027.

For the first time, the cricketers (the starting XI as well as the Impact Player) will get a match fee of INR 7.5 lakh (£6,700*) a game – in addition to the contracted amount.

*conversions as of September 29, 2024

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