The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made its intentions clear. The IPL mega auction isn’t going away any time soon. A week ago, the board met with all ten franchise owners and asked their opinions on multiple things. The mega auction and retentions turned out to be the most contentious thing, with two owners even trading verbal blows due to their disagreement on the topic.
IPL owners’ reservations regarding mega auction
The number of players that are allowed to be retained is directly related to the mega auction. Depending on its future, the franchises will be able to make long and short-term decisions. If a mega auction takes place every 3 years, a franchise won’t be able to invest in players and would rather go for stop-gap solutions.
This issue was raised by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, the two finalists of the IPL 2024 season. The teams felt that they’ve made progress since the last mega auction in 2022, and it would be done away if they were allowed to retain just 4 players.
Mega auction to stay, retention number increased & RTM comeback possible
But the BCCI isn’t budging. According to Cricbuzz, the board won’t do away with the IPL mega auction but is willing to allow franchises to retain six players instead of the previous limit of four. The Right to Match (RTM) may make a comeback as well, with teams being allowed to retain players through a combination of RTMs and retentions.
Mind you, the RTM hasn’t been used since the mega auction in 2018. Back then, a maximum of 5 players were allowed to be retained by each franchise, with not more than 3 players being bought back using the RTM. If it makes a comeback, we could have a 4+2 or 3+3 (retention and RTM) system for player retention in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
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