The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council officially outlined the retention rules and key regulations ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, following a detailed discussion held with all ten franchises in Bengaluru on Saturday, September 28. A major decision finalized during the meeting was the retention policy for IPL teams. As per the new rules, each franchise will be allowed to retain up to five players ahead of the 2025 mega auction. This is an increase from the previous mega auction in 2022, where teams were allowed to retain a maximum of four players.
There are no prescribed limits on Indian and foreign retentions and teams can retain as many Indian and foreign players among their five retentions.In another major update from the meeting, it was also decided that each team will be allowed to use only one Right-to-Match (RTM) card during the 2025 IPL mega auction. The RTM card, which allows teams to match the highest bid for a player they had previously released, has been a critical tool for franchises to retain top talent without engaging in direct bidding wars.
Teams will also be granted one extra RTM card for each retention slot they don’t use from the prescribed limit of five players. For example, if a team chooses to retain just three players instead of five, they will be given two extra Right to Match cards along with the one already being granted to all the teams.
The total purse value for each team has been also increased from INR 100 crore from the last edition to be at INR 120 crore for the upcoming season.
Total Purse = Rs. 120cr
1st retention: Rs. 18cr
2nd retention: Rs. 14cr
3rd retention: Rs. 11cr
4th retention: Rs. 18cr
5th retention: Rs. 14cr
