Indian Players to Call the Shots: How Their Salaries Will Dictate Foreign Players’ Pay in IPL Auctions 2025

The IPL Governing Council has announced major updates to the auction system for the 2025-27 cycle, impacting player retention, the Right to Match (RTM) process, and salaries for foreign players. These changes were introduced on Saturday, September 28, 2024, aiming to promote fairness and competitive balance.

Retention Guidelines and Player Limits

Teams are now allowed to retain up to six players from their current squads, including a maximum of five capped and two uncapped players. Each retained player’s value will be deducted from the team’s total auction purse of INR 120 crores for IPL 2025. The retention values for capped players are as follows:

• First Retention: INR 18 crores
• Second Retention: INR 14 crores
• Third Retention: INR 11 crores
• Fourth Retention: INR 8 crores
• Fifth Retention: INR 4 crores

Uncapped players retained will each be valued at INR 4 crores. For instance, if a team retains five capped players and one uncapped player, INR 79 crores will be deducted, leaving them with INR 41 crores to spend at the auction.

RTM Returns with New Rules

The Right to Match (RTM) option is making a comeback in IPL 2025, but with a new twist. While teams can still reclaim their former players by matching the highest bid at auction, the highest bidder will now be given one last chance to raise their bid after an RTM is exercised. For example, if Royal Challengers Bengaluru bids INR 6 crores for Ravichandran Ashwin, Rajasthan Royals can use their RTM to reclaim him, but RCB will get the opportunity to raise the bid further, and Rajasthan must match this new amount to keep Ashwin.

The number of RTMs available will depend on how many players a team retains. The formula is simple: 6 – Number of Retained Players. If a team retains four players, they will have two RTMs.

Here is how Indian Players will dictate the highest bid in IPL

The new IPL rule introduces a system where the salaries of foreign players are determined based on the highest bids for Indian players in the previous auction. This means that the maximum amount a foreign player can earn in an auction is directly tied to how much the highest-paid Indian player received in the previous mega auction.

For example, if the highest bid for an Indian player in the 2025 IPL auction is INR 16 crores, then no foreign player can receive a salary higher than INR 16 crores in the 2026 auction. This ensures a salary cap for overseas players, aligning their maximum earnings with the top Indian player’s auction price from the previous year. However, if any Indian player goes for more than INR 18 crores in 2025, this becomes the cap for foreign players in the following auction. So, if an Indian player’s bid exceeds INR 18 crores, no foreign player in the next auction can surpass that amount.

Additionally, if a foreign player is sold for more than the allowed cap, for instance, if a foreign player receives a bid of INR 25 crores, the excess amount over the cap (such as INR 7 or 9 crores) will not go to the player. Instead, this extra amount will be directed to the BCCI for player welfare purposes. This rule is designed to regulate foreign players’ salaries while ensuring that the surplus money from high bids benefits the larger cricket community.

Important Deadlines

Teams must submit their list of retained players by 5 PM IST on October 31, 2024. Any player who is capped by this deadline will be considered a capped player for retention purposes.

These changes are expected to increase strategic complexity and excitement in the IPL auction process as franchises look to balance their budgets and build strong teams for the future.

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