From Salary Cap To RTM: All IPL 2025 Retention Rules Explained

The 10 IPL franchises will be allowed to retain a maximum of six players from their previous squads, including usage Right To Match (RTM) card at the auction that will cost Rs 75 crore out of an enhanced team purse of Rs 120 crore, the IPL governing council decided on Saturday. In a significant move, the BCCI also decided that all those India players, who haven't played any international game for at least five calendar years will deemed “uncapped players”, a move being seen to ensure that Chennai Super Kings can retain the peerless Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who last played for the country in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal.

It is learnt that for an uncapped player, the retention cost will be Rs 4 crore and hence CSK even if they retain Dhoni, can surely save a lot for the auction.

A team was allowed up to four retentions in the last mega auction held in 2022.

On the day, BCCI secretary Jay Shah also announced a fixed match fee of Rs 7.50 lakh for all players selected to play the league games with an additional 1.05 crore income over and above their salaries.

A fixed salary purse of Rs 12.60 crore in addition to the auction cum retention purse of Rs 120 crore will have to be kept by the franchises for next season.

“The total salary cap will now consist of auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. Previously in 2024, the total salary cap (auction purse incremental performance pay) was Rs. 110 Crs which will now be Rs. 146 Crs (2025), Rs. 151 Crs (2026) and Rs. 157 Crs (2027),” the BCCI release stated.

The IPL franchises can now retain 6 players from their existing squad, either via retention or by using the RTM option.

It is the discretion of the franchise to choose its combination for Retentions and RTMs.