India cricket team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called the Right to Match (RTM) card at the IPL auction as an unfair rule to the players. The Rajasthan Royals spinner’s remarks come after RTM was discussed in the meeting between franchises and the BCCI. The veteran spinner went on to cite an example as to why he was against the RTM rule.
Ashwin against RTM rule in IPL
“There is nothing more unfair for a player than RTM. Because how has the RTM rule been so far? For example, there is a player called X. He is on a team called the Sunrisers. There is a player in the SunRisers. His current value is around five to six crores. He went to an auction. SunRisers have to buy the player back. So, the SunRisers will bid for the player at a base price of two crore.”
“KKR and MI are bidding for the player. The bid is up to six crores. The player was sold to MI for Rs 6 cr. So, SRH will bid for the player at Rs 6 cr. The problem here is that SRH are happy. KKR and MI are unhappy. The only person happy is SRH. Because, for the first time, they gave attendance. After that, there is no fair value at all. There is a bidder,” he added.
“The KKR and Mumbai Indians are fighting. For a team, it has gone up to six crores. What does SRH say? You bought the player, right? Return the player.”
What is RTM in IPL auction?
Right to Match card (RTM) allows the teams to purchase an unretained player who played for them in the previous edition for the highest bidding amount the player has received in that auction. In Indian Premier League (IPL), the RTM option is available only during mega auction since during these auctions, teams can retain only a smaller number of players with restrictions.
RTM is applied during the auction process when a player is being bid for. If a team can match the highest amount that is bid for a player they want to retain, then they can apply the RTM i.e. they show the willingness to match the amount needed to retain the player in the squad.
