The new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is around the corner. Now, just before the commencement of IPL 2025 a lot of replacements are joining different teams ahead. A big breakthrough happened on Sunday, where KKR’s pacer Umran Malik failed to pass the fitness test by NCA and pulled out of the tournament, so Chetan Sakaria replaced him. Also, South African pacer Corbin Bosch has been served legal notice by PCB for snubbing PSL for IPL at the last minute. Bosch replaced Lizaad Williams, but he might have breached his PSL contract by choosing the IPL opportunity. Just like the auction process, the replacement is also a complicated affair. Let’s look at what the IPL replacement rules are.
IPL’s replacement rules
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clear rules for replacements. If a player gets a season-ending injury or illness, teams can bring in replacements. This rule applies both before and during the season.
- The 2025 rules allow replacing players during the first 12 league matches. Previously, replacements were only allowed until the seventh match.
- Replacement players must be listed in the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP).
- A replacement player can only be recruited for a fee not exceeding that of the player they are replacing.
Salary cap and contract extensions
The BCCI states that replacement players’ fees don’t count towards the team’s salary cap for the current season. However, if their contract extends to the next season, their fee will affect the salary cap. Teams must follow squad rules, keeping player numbers within limits. If a replacement player’s contract gets extended for future seasons, the player will be treated like any other member of the squad in terms of salary and squad composition.
- Current Season Exemption: Imagine Mumbai Indians hire a replacement player named Rohan during the 2025 IPL season. Rohan’s fee does not count towards Mumbai Indians’ salary cap for 2025.
- Future Season Impact: If Mumbai Indians decide to keep Rohan for the 2026 season, then his salary will count towards the team’s salary cap for 2026.
- Squad Regulation Compliance: Even when hiring Rohan, Mumbai Indians must ensure they do not exceed the total number of players allowed in their squad for the season.
- Equal Treatment in Future Seasons: When Rohan continues with Mumbai Indians in 2026, he will be treated like any regular player in terms of his salary’s impact on the cap and his role in the squad.
Example of current replacements
For instance, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman joined the Mumbai Indians for INR 2 crore, replacing a player valued at INR 4.8 crore (Allah Ghazanfar). Similarly, Mulder and Sakariya joined Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders for their base prices of INR 75 lakh each. There’s no specific mention of Corbin Bosch’s current value, but he originally enrolled in the IPL auction for INR 30 lakh and went unsold.
Bosch replaced Lizaad Williams, whom MI bought for INR 75 lakh. Interestingly, Bosch was under contract with Peshawar Zalmi in PSL for USD 60,000-80,000, which comes around 69.49 lakh rupees. For instance, KKR bought Rovman Powell for ₹1.5 Crore, now if he gets a season-long injury and KKR wants to replace him with Steve Smith, whose base price was 2 crore rupees, they can’t do it. They have to replace him with a player who has a lower base price than Powell.
